Slavery Mark
by FriendlyMushroom
Summary: AU.One is the Princess of the Earth Kingdom, the other a prince captured at the Water Tribe and doomed to serve at the Fire Nation as nothing more than a slave, all due to a slavery mark, two different worlds driven together by destiny. Tokka,Zutara&More.
1. The Slave and the Princess

Created by FriendlyMushroom.

_Honoring: Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Aaron Ehasz. The creators and executive producers who gave birth to 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' and whose inspiration made this possible._

_Especial thanks to: Miyiku, for her constant support and friendship toward this stranger, it is her, the responsible of my success. Demonking101, who has followed my work so far. TwilightGD whose support and reviews had lightened my mood during hard times. And Bluetiger, whose constant critics had improved my writing style and creativity. And thanks to you all my readers, since it is because of you, that despite the long waits, this novel is still alive._

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**What is Slavery Mark?**

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Slavery Mark is more than just fiction, it is a novel inspired in 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' universe. An alternate reality in which war exploded by different means. A tale full with romance and adventure, following Sokka, a Water Tribe prince captured and sold as nothing more than a slave, and Toph Bei Fong, the blind princess of her Kingdom whose actions will control the fate of the four nations.

More than fiction, Slavery Mark is a window toward the possibilities. Surrounded by politics, war, and childhood promises. Slavery Mark promises to be a work of literature worth the reading. Let's the legend begin.

Avatar: The Last Airbender was created and produced by Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko and Aaron Ehasz. Slavery Mark is just one of the many alternate universes involving the acclaimed series. This novel is a material of free reading and creates no monetary gain. Any doubt or comments about the work please send a review or private message to the author.

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**Slavery Mark: Book One – Fire.**

**Chapter One: The Water Tribe Slave and the Earth Princess.**

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"Why are we here? I don't like this place, I can feel sad vibrations." Her name is Toph Bei Fong, only daughter of the Earth King Lao Bei Fong. She was born blind, but as the only possible successor of her familiar legacy, she is forced to witness at her young age of 5 how things work on her kingdom. "Why are all these people so sad?"

"They are in pain because they deserve it." Long Feng, Counselor and Royal Guard's captain was always by the girl's side as her protector, and today, he was ordered by the king to take the princess to a 'Field Trip' toward the lower ring of Ba Sing Se, where the slaves were sold and the coal mines where found.

"But they are suffering! I don't like this place!" Long Feng ignored the princess and walked her toward the newly arrived slaves who were chained together by their necks, between them was a lone boy, she could tell after feeling the weak vibrations, full with hatred, full with rage. "I want to go home… I don't want to be here… it smells weird, like sweat and dirt… those people are groaning and sobbing…" Tears were forming at the corners of the girl's blinds eyes, but Long Feng never cared that much about his princess's reaction, this was after all his responsibility toward his king, like it or not, the princess was forced to know.

"One day you will rule this kingdom and you need to understand why we do what we do, all these slaves are war prisoners from the Water Tribe, as you know, the war recently ended thanks to the intervention of Avatar Aang, and those who began the war are now our slaves." Toph began crying, she couldn't stand to be there with all those kids around her age being sold as slaves.

"What makes them so different from us? Why are they this sad?" Long sat down at a nearby bench around one of the slavery shops, he was enjoying the view; Toph in the other hand just hugged Long Feng trembling and scared.

"These savages began the war against our allied kingdom, the Fire Nation, due to Avatar Kuruk's greed, he wanted the supremacy of his element… of course that was more than 500 years ago, but their sins need to be punished." Toph couldn't understand it yet, but that was why Long Feng was there, to make sure Toph knew about the past and about the war. "Even after Kuruk was gone, the Water Tribe continued their attacks against our allied kingdom, fortunately, this time the Avatar was born as an earthbender, Avatar Kyoshi convinced our people to fight the Water Tribe and brought the war to Water Tribe territory when destroying the wall of the Southern Pole… unfortunately, that also lead to her dead… You are yourself a fan of Avatar Kyoshi, am I right?" Toph cleaned her tears and nodded in agreement.

"Before mommy passed away, she told me stories about a powerful earthbender who could move mountains and became the hero of our kingdom; I want to grow up to be as strong as her." Toph smiled softly, finally ignoring the fact of being in the middle of a slave-selling territory.

"I'm sure you will grow up to be a great Dai Li agent, Avatar Kyoshi trained the Dai Li and they became our best weapon against the remaining and future invasions of the Water Tribe." Toph began jumping up and down happily after remembering one of her favorite stories about the Dai Li.

"I will become the greatest Dai Li agent ever! My mommy told me the Dai Li were close to Avatar Roku since Roku was Kyoshi's reincarnation and that he continued training the Dai Li." Long Feng rubbed Toph's head softly, the little girl just smiled as reply, she no longer felt scared or sad about what was happening around her.

"That was more than 100 years ago; Avatar Roku is no longer the Avatar, but he did end the invasions to the Fire Nation for good after conquering back the slaved nations that were once under the control of the Water Tribe, unfortunately, a terrible accident ended his life." Toph raised an eyebrow at Long Feng, she was curious about what kind of accident he was talking about. "Do not worry about the details, my princess, the current Avatar is a hundred years old Airnomad Monk, those are a peaceful civilization who gave up violence and live at peace."

"But if the war was over so long ago… why are there still slaved nations and people suffering like this?" Long Feng thought about what to answer for a while, he knew the answer, the hard part was to find the proper words for Toph to understand it. "Is it because our kingdom is still angry about what happened 500 years ago? Can't we be friends?"

"It's not that simple, politics is a hard subject, the Water Tribe can't even be called a civilization, they are nothing more than a group of savages that desire power among anything else, but your father is a generous man and is planning to end this slavery selling, but until then, we of the wealthy families can still enjoy the luxury of having a slave to serve us." Toph's smile faded, she didn't like it, all those yells of pain and agony once again invaded her young ears, and her eyes began watering once again. Suddenly, many Dai Li soldiers were seen running around the streets, apparently some slaves had freed themselves from their chains and were now fighting the Royal Guards. "Damn those slaves! You, cabbage merchant! Take care of this girl! My Princess, stay here, I need to aid the Dai Li." Toph nodded and the cabbage merchant hugged her protectively.

"Be careful my princess, these slaves are animals, they always have something against my cabbages, but do not worry, I will protect you." Toph nodded, but apparently the slaves that were now free were more than what the Dai Li could handle and the cabbage merchant lost track of Toph's whereabouts. "My Princess! Stay near the cabbage car! Wait you brutes! Those are no weapons! My Cabbages!"

Toph found herself in the middle of a furious crowd, it was like being in the middle of a battlefield, weak Water Tribe slaves were fighting against the all mighty Dai Li members who were outnumbered but more powerful than the slaves. It was a dangerous situation, the crowd seemed to be growing bigger and bigger and so the girl ran away scared. "Somebody help me! I can't see inside this crowd! I'm blind! And I'm scared!" Toph searched around the place for Long Feng with no luck, she began sobbing and the situation was growing dangerous, the furious fight was intensifying and Toph found herself in the ground and avoiding the feet of many who ran around the place, she could have died there by accident, but soon she felt a hand grabbing hers and pulling her out of the crowd at the moment she was about to be hit by the furious crowd.

"Idiot! This is no place for a blind girl! We are in the middle of a war!" Toph began crying, but the young boy who rescued her just kept running and holding her hand, pulling her out of the crowd and throwing a sharp and silver boomerang toward random Dai Li members who were fighting other slaves. "Mom! I found a blind girl! She needs our help!"

"Sokka! Don't try to play the hero! Where is Bato?" The young boy moved his head in negation. "So he is still fighting, he is just as stubborn as your father, come on Sokka, we need to hurry or we will miss our only chance to escape!" The woman took Sokka's hand and pulled him out of the crowd, the boy was still holding Toph's hand and so she found herself in the middle of a group of slaves planning an escape, but upon noticing their conversations, and how they were planning on taking her father, the king, as a hostage, she reacted in fear.

"Wait! Long Feng said you were evil people! Let me go! Long Feng!" At the distance, Long Feng began forcing his way back to Toph inside of the crowd, hitting many slaves in the progress. With an incredible speed he placed himself in front of Toph and was about to hit the young kid holding her hand when his hit was intercepted by one of the many slaves, Bato, the brave leader of the slave's rebellion.

"Bato! I will fight too!" Bato ignored the boy and threw himself into battle with Long Feng and ignored the yells of the young warrior who began aiming his boomerang at the Earth Kingdom militant, Toph was finally able to 'see' since the crowd was slowly disappearing and so she hugged the boy's arm preventing him from throwing the boomerang. "What are you doing? He is going to hurt my uncle! Let me go!" Toph moved her head in negation; the kid just fought her back. "Idiot! I have to help him out!" But Toph slammed her foot at the ground and an earth sphere formed around them, protecting them both from whatever was outside and also driving the boy away from his mother. "You are an earthbender!"

"Please don't fight! I don't like it when people fight!" Toph began sobbing; the young boy just pushed her away angrily and took his boomerang up, aiming it at the girl even when knowing they were in a much reduced space and that he could barely see inside this deep darkness. "Please wait, I might be an earthbender but I'm not bad, I don't like when people fight, it's just so sad!"

"Idiot! I'm a slave to your kingdom; I have to fight for my freedom! I'm tired of living scared and with fear, fighting is the only way to settle this for good! Fighting is the only way to end this stupid war! Fighting is the only way I can survive and quit being so helpless and useless! I want to be a warrior! So open this damn sphere so I can help my uncle and find my mother!" Toph was surprised, she hated all these fights and arguments but just because she was unable to understand them and because her parents were always overprotective around her. "I'm Sokka, future war hero of the Water Tribe! And I demand you to open this sphere!"

"You are just a kid… perhaps not much older than me… why do you want to fight…? Why do we have to be at war? Long Feng says I'm supposed to rule this kingdom in the future! But I don't want to rule a kingdom like this!" Sokka grabbed the girl's collar and once again demanded for the girl to open the sphere, which angered the girl and so she slapped his face hard. "I don't want to! All you are going to do is get yourself killed!"

"Why do you care anyway? You are my enemy! You are Earth Kingdom! You slaved my tribe, took me away from my father and sister! And now your people are selling me as a slave! I rather die than become a slave!" Sokka once again pulled the girl by the collar; the girl just hugged him and sobbed his tunic. The boy blushed; he never expected that reaction. "Hey! Don't cry on me! Enemy tears! Get off!" Sokka could no longer push the girl away from him and so he kneeled and hugged her, not really knowing why he was doing it. "Aw man, I don't like to see girls crying, not even if they are enemies or not, stop crying! Be strong! How will you be a good leader if you are such a crybaby?"

"I don't want to rule a kingdom that hurts others, I just wanted to become a Dai Li agent just like Long Feng, and be a great earthbender like Avatar Kyoshi, and help people be happy!" Sokka finally pushed Toph away from him when her sobbing stopped, the blind eyes of the girl were tired because of all the crying, and Sokka's shirt was all wet.

"You had to be a girl, those are just fantasies! A girl like you can't become a strong earthbender, not with such a weak attitude! If you want to be strong you have to be sure of yourself and determined, not a crybaby or daddy's little girl; we are in the middle of a war! There is no place for dreams, just actions!" Toph felt like crying again but even before she could start the earth sphere she had created was opened and Sokka found himself surrounded by Dai Li agents, the liberation move that was led by Bato was over, he was awfully beaten up by Long Feng who made his way toward Sokka. "Stay away from me! Or she dies!" Sokka grabbed Toph and placed the sharp edge of his boomerang at her neck, Toph wasn't scared, just surprised by the sudden reaction of the kid.

"Is this your mother?" Long Feng pulled a bruised woman and grabbed her in the same way Sokka was grabbing Toph, Sokka's eyes widened open, his mother was all bruised and seemed like she also took part of a strong fight and was barely conscious. "If you hurt our princess I will kill your mother as a payback." Sokka allowed his boomerang to fall, Toph just stood there not really understanding what was going on. "My princess, stay away from that boy." Toph never reacted to that last, instead, she picked the boomerang up and then placed it at Sokka's hand. "Princess Bei Fong?"

"…Thank you for saving me…" She whispered to Sokka and then faced the Dai Li. "Long Feng… please don't hurt his mother… and please don't punish him because of me… he just wanted to protect those he cares for, he isn't a savage…" Long Feng looked at the kid with rage and then at his princess and nodded in agreement while setting the woman free, Sokka ran toward his mother and hugged her protectively, Toph just smiled at the boy. "I want to become strong, just like this boy… Long Feng… will you find a good home for him? I know he is a slave, but he saved my life and I want him to be with his mommy… I want to pay him back as my thanks."

"Princess Toph Bei Fong, this boy was about to take your life, and you still want to help him? I don't understand." Toph said nothing, she just smiled at Long Feng, that smile drove him nuts, he wanted his princess to be strong and continue with her familiar legacy, but orders were orders, even if they came from a 5 years old princess. "As you wish, my princess, you slave, you better be thankful to our princess since she just saved your life… deputy commander, take the princess back to the palace."

Toph took the hand of one of the Dai Li agents who walked her toward the upper ring of Ba Sing Se, Long Feng just kneeled and looked at Sokka's eyes and smiled. "I swear I will make you pay for this!" He then slapped Sokka hard, so hard that a string of blood was already falling from his young lips as hatred consumed his soul, but still, the Water Tribe slave could do nothing, he was surrounded, it didn't matter how hard he wanted to fight since it was of no use.

"Our princess is still weak… but I will make sure she changes someday, you are a lucky one, my princess would never forgive me if I killed you right here… take this kid and his mother to the Fire Nation. Both are still young, I'm sure they will pay good gold for them." The soldiers of the Earth Kingdom did as they were told, Long Feng just smiled to himself as the young boy tried to set himself free from his captors with no luck. "I almost forgot, since you will be a slave at the Fire Nation, you need the proper mark."

One of the Dai Li soldiers took an emblem out, the Fire Nation emblem, two more grabbed Sokka's arm and forced him to place his hand on the floor. "What are you doing?" Long Feng began a fire and heated the metal emblem until it began shining, then he forced Sokka to show him his dorsum-hand. "No! Let me go!" Long Feng smiled to him as the burning emblem was pressed hard at Sokka's dorsum-hand, marking him for life with the slavery mark. The yells of agony and pain were like music to Long Feng's ears, Sokka's mother finally woke up just to witness the burned blood at Sokka's hand. "It burns! It hurts!" Sokka cried out, but all his physical pain was nothing compared to what was going to happen next. "Mom!"

The soldiers of the Earth Kingdom placed Sokka's mother in the same position Sokka was not long ago, tears were falling from her eyes and so were from Sokka's ones, the emblem of the Fire Nation was also pressed against her dorsum-hand, but the woman refused to yell, instead, it was Sokka the one yelling and crying. "This is the mark of slavery, wherever you go, you will be seen as a slave and forced to work for wealthy family members at the Fire Nation, your word will have no value since you are nothing more than a slave, the best part of this mark is that it is permanent, I wonder if our princess made you a favor by sparing your life, or perhaps dead was a better punishment than live as the servant of a noble."

Sokka wanted to run toward his mother but was stopped by the Dai Li, who grabbed both of his hands and pulled him out of the city, Sokka's mother was unconscious by the pain once again and was also being carried out of the city and into a train like earthbended transport with another group of 'lucky' slaves that were selected to serve at the Fire Nation, once inside, Sokka allowed his tears to fall like waterfalls, not because of the pain at his right hand, or because of being a slave, it was because of that girl who tried to save his life and only ended up giving him more pain… "How? All earthbenders are monsters… but that girl… she tried to save me… I'm alive because of her… but she is an earthbender… she must be a monster… no earthbender has a heart… no earthbender can save this kingdom… no one can…" Sokka cried hard, and this time his mother cried with him as the train left Ba Sing Se and headed to the Fire Nation.


	2. The Wealthiest of Slaves

**Slavery Mark: Book One – Fire.**

**Chapter Two: The Wealthiest of Slaves.**

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"I have trained many Dai Li agents in the past Long Feng, but asking me to train a 5 years old blind girl is asking too much, it is impossible for someone like her to learn earthbending, even if she was born a bender." His name is Yu, the greatest earthbending master in the whole Earth Kingdom; he was summoned by Long Feng so he would train Toph, but even after his long trip from Gaoling to Ba Sing Se, he refused.

He as well as Long Feng, was enjoying a cup of tea at one of the many rooms of the Earth palace at Ba Sing Se. "I am disappointed, refusing to train the daughter of the Earth King? You have some nerve to do something like that; I always thought you were greedier than this."

"Whatever you say won't change my mind. I may be greedy, but using the Earth King's only daughter for your personal benefit is going too far." Long Feng stood up angered by Yu's last comment, the Earth bending master just kept his coolness. "You poisoned that girl's mind with stories about the great Dai Li agents, and now she wants to be another of your puppets, I won't allow it."

"Puppet? I care for my princess more than you can even imagine! I won't allow you to call her my puppet; there is nothing I care more than the princess's welfare!" Master Yu stood up and walked away and toward the palace's front doors. Long Feng stood up as well after recovering his coolness and followed Yu out of the palace. "My apologies for my behavior my friend."

"No, Long Feng, you cannot be excused, I know you better than you think, you like playing mind games to control those around you, I won't take part on your…" Yu's speech was then interrupted by the earth shaking softly below his feet, the event won his attention, it wasn't a normal earthquake, he could feel it. Long Feng smiled evilly toward Master Yu once noticing that face full of interest of him, Yu just ignored him and made his way toward the palace's green fields, once there he could see the young and blind princess practicing her bending, moving huge boulders from a side of the field to the other one, placing a lot of effort into it.

"As you can see, Master Yu, even without your guidance, she will definitively train herself… of course having a master by her side would be very helpful." Master Yu ignored Long Feng a second time and walked toward Toph who was currently trying to move a boulder with her earthbending, but once she felt Yu's vibrations she stopped and turned around to 'face' him.

That last impressed Yu a lot, he was still far from her, and even if she was blind, there was no way she could have heard him coming from that far away. "You must be Toph, the princess of the Earth Kingdom." Toph made a reverence and then went back to her training, trying hard to concentrate and ignore the pain on her young and tired skinny arms. "I am speechless, normally earthbenders can move boulders at 8, but you are already moving them, it surely is something to be proud of… but your posture is weak and you are doing many unnecessary moves… who were your earthbending master?"

"A couple of badgermoles who took care of me when I went lost inside of the mines by the lower ring of the city… who are you?" The girl pointed at Yu's face with an incredible aim despite her blindness, which surprised him even more.

"I am Master Yu, and I am known as the best earthbender master in the whole kingdom… I was asked by your protector, Long Feng, to teach you earthbending, but despite his insistence I refused." Toph lowered her face; Yu in the other hand just smiled and sat down at the grass, also offering Toph a sit. "Why do you want to be an earthbender anyway? Is it because you are blind and you want to probe yourself capable of taking care of yourself?"

"You can say it's that… but the truth is I don't care I was born blind, for me it is as normal as breathing… what I really want to do is to become strong and be a Dai Li agent." Yu moved his head in negation and was about to say something when Toph spoke out first. "I also want to be as strong as Avatar Kyoshi, so I can be ready to lead my kingdom as she did when she ended the war against the Water Tribe… also… I want to be stronger so the next time I meet with that boy, I will make him eat his words."

Master Yu wasn't able to understand the last part but began laughing out loud. "Then, Lady Toph Bei Fong, it would be my honor to be your earthbending master, and not only that, I will teach you techniques not even the Dai Li know." Toph smiled and then hugged Master Yu, who couldn't help but hug her back, at the distance; Long Feng just smiled.

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The feeling of cold water hitting his whole body finally woke him up, Sokka opened his eyes weakly and tried to fix his eyesight, for a while, all he was able to see was a blur, but after a couple of blinks he was able to see again. "See? He is still alive; all he needed was a bath." He could hear the laughs of those around him, he was still weak and dizzy, but sort of knew what was going on, he was tied from arms and legs to a huge lumber as well as many other slaves. After a while of waking up his senses, Sokka forced himself to break the ropes that tied him to the lumber, but he couldn't. "And he is strong! We had to knock him unconscious to tie him up, he is the youngest slave you will ever find, and with this much energy and a little training he will surely be a nice investment."

"…Mom… where is my mother…?" Sokka moved his head around the place searching for his mother, but she wasn't tied as the many slaves at the market, instead, Sokka's mom was being pulled by her ropes away from the market, she was already sold. "…Mother… let me go! Mom! Let me go now!" Sokka's mother looked at him with tear filled eyes and then moved her head in negation, but Sokka began fighting the ropes once again as strong as he could, even forcing his wrists to bleed because of the effort. "Mom!"

Sokka forced himself not to cry and continued, but it was of no use and his strong yells were already dying down, swallowed by the yells of the many wealthy members who wanted to buy him because of his young age and because of his energy. "I will pay 100 gold pieces for that kid." The yells died down, Sokka was sweating hard after fighting the ropes and could no longer keep going, and even yelling was hard. Silence invaded the market.

"One hundred… gold pieces…? Deal! The young slave is sold to Master Piandao!" The silence continued as the old master made his way toward the kid, and with his fine sword he cut the ropes, Sokka was totally out of energy and tripped with his own feet and hit the wooden floor hard. "A common slave is worth around 30 gold pieces; make sure my gold wasn't wasted." He spoke coldly, but his face reflected concern and good intentions, it was enough for Sokka to know the man meant him no harm, and so, with that knowledge by his side, he begged for the Fire Nation officer to help him.

"My mother… please… I will do anything… I'm begging you… don't let him take my mother away from me… she is everything I have left… I'm begging you…" The owner of the slave shop kicked Sokka so he would stay quiet but Master Piandao pointed his sword toward the slave's merchant throat.

"He is my slave now, don't dare touching my propriety." Everyone backed off, Piandao just moved his head toward his butler, who nodded in agreement and then picked Sokka's unconscious body up as Piandao made his way toward the rich man who was taking Sokka's mother away from the market. "My apologizes." He interrupted the man's walking. "I'm afraid I want that slave for myself, I will double the gold you spent on her."

"I'm afraid that can't be done, this woman was chosen by Prince Zuko himself to be his babysitter, and knowing the prince's current situation, I am not allowed to do that." The one who bought Sokka's mother as a slave finally turned around to face Piandao, who was left speechless. "She is my birthday present for him as well so I think I don't want to let her go either." The old man then looked back at Piandao and then smiled toward him happily. "Piandao? My good old friend!"

"General Iroh, I never expected to find someone like you in a place like this, but that's not important at the moment, I must convince you to sell this slave to me… as you can see, I bought myself the youngest slave on the market and plan to have him serving me until the day of my retirement, in order to do that I need his mother so he can learn from her instead of training him myself." Iroh smiled but moved his head in negation, then placed a caring hand at Piandao's shoulder.

"You don't have to pretend around me, Piandao, you have a soft heart, just like I do, buying slaves is not your style, you just bought this boy because you were worried about him, and now you want his mother because of his welfare." Sokka's mother gave both Fire Nation wealthy members a surprised stare; Sokka in the other hand was still unconscious. "But you must understand my situation as well, it was Prince's Zuko wish for this woman here to replace his now gone mother, and there is nothing I can do."

"I understand, but, is it ok with you to strip a boy from his mother at such a young age just to please one who already lost his?" Iroh moved his head in negation, but by the expression of his face Piandao was sure Iroh was cornered and that there was nothing he could do. "Then I must ask you for an audience with Prince Zuko."

"An audience with the prince? Piandao! Of all your weird ideas I must say this is the weirdest I have heard! Is this slave worth your effort?" Piandao said nothing, Iroh smiled. "Of course he is, isn't he? Very well, I will arrange a meeting with my nephew, but you must share a cup of tea with me in the meantime." Piandao nodded in agreement and followed Iroh toward a huge palace at the capital of the Fire Nation. Fat, Piandao's butler, was left to carry the unconscious body of Sokka and pull the ropes of his mother toward the castle.

"Excuse me sir… I know I am just a slave and have no right to speak to you… but, I must beg you… allow me to carry my son all the way toward the castle… at least for a while longer, I want to have him in my arms…" Fat raised an eyebrow and then ignored the woman, but after a couple of minutes, he delivered the unconscious body of Sokka to her. "Thank you… I will never forget your kindness."

After a long walk they finally made it to the castle, and so Iroh asked Piandao to be excused so he would be able to talk with his nephew before allowing Piandao inside, and so Piandao was left with both slaves at the waiting room. Sokka's mother was standing by the door carrying Sokka and hugging him while Fat was waiting at the other side of the door in order to prevent any possible escape. "You don't need to be this tense, you might be a slave, but you are still a person, no matter what the others say, please, sit down."

The woman nodded and nervously sat down at one of the many couches at the room, just in front of Piandao. "Am I… allowed to speak…?" Piandao nodded. "I want to thank you for what you did… I'm glad my son will be able to serve such a kind person as you… I'm really glad… I know the word of a slave has no value but please… Sokka is a good child… take good care of him…"

"Sokka is his name then… I was planning on changing his name to Lee… but Sokka is ok… there are plenty of Lees… anyway… I must tell you, I don't like buying slaves, I just did it because I am ashamed of my own nation, and because it is the best for him to be down my tutoring than down the orders of a sick wealthy one who sees only for his own wellbeing." The woman smiled softly, Piandao just crossed his arms and took a more serious posture. "But I must let you know… even after saying that last, I paid good gold for that kid and will also take advantage of his abilities, I'm just saying I'm not planning to torture him or force him that hard."

"I understand… as long as I'm sure my son will be ok… I will be happy… once again I thank you…" Piandao stared at the woman in front of him carefully, she looked so strong in heart, but her body seemed fragile and weaker than the one of usual slaves.

"You are sick… I can see it in your eyes, and your body is weaker than it is supposed to be…" The woman's smile faded, but not for long, she hugged her son and once again delivered a soft smile to Piandao. "I understand… you don't wish to talk about the subject… but there is surely one thing I wish to know… your name…"

"My… my name?" The woman was surprised; Piandao just stared at her with his sharp and determined eyes, just then the woman knew he had good intentions and was just curious. "My name is Kaya… Sokka is my first son; we were separated from my husband Hakoda and my daughter Katara as part of a peace offering, many may think it was unfair… but as Avatar Aang told me a few months ago… 'Sometimes sacrifices are meant to be done to save those you love… war is not the way toward peace' also, it was the only way to end this war… so we gladly accepted to be slaves of the Earth Kingdom… we are the last group of slaves there will ever be, at least for now… thanks to our sacrifice, our tribe can once again live at peace…"

"That means you were one of the leaders of your tribe, that's the only way the Earth King could have accepted such a peace offering." Kaya nodded. Piandao was amazed, even after been denigrated from being a tribe's leader to a slave, she was still smiling. "So, this means the South Pole finally surrendered to the Earth Kingdom… after 500 years of war…"

"We did, it was a painful war, Earthbenders were unable to use their abilities in a region with no earth, and our tribe was outnumbered, all the avatars, Kuruk, Kyoshi and Roku tried to conquer the South Pole… Kuruk began the war… Kyoshi destroyed our wall… Roku took back the conquered cities of our tribe… but Avatar Aang was the only one kind enough to convince us to surrender… 500 years of war are finally over thanks to his pacifist ways of life. That's why I don't mind being a slave if it means the South Pole will be able to live peacefully once again." She smiled; Piandao closed his eyes with sadness.

"The South Pole is now defeated… I wonder if there are going to be consequences, the North Pole was never part of this war… but I doubt the Earth King and the Fire Lord will be satisfied by just defeating one pole, for them, your tribe is savage… who were you? How did you end the war by selling yourself as a slave?" Kaya kept her smile, which impressed Piandao a lot.

"Kaya… the queen of the Southern Water Tribe…" Piandao's eyes widened open, she wasn't just a leader, she was the ruler of her tribe. "…To save my tribe, I gave up my royalty status before ordering my best warriors to surrender to the Earth Kingdom, I was supposed to be the Earth King's slave, but Bato, our second leader, planned a rebellion, that's how I ended here, our last peace offering broke into a war… I was scared and wanted to protect my son, and then they placed this mark on me and him… I don't know what is going to happen from now on, I just care for my son's fate and my tribe's peace." Piandao still couldn't understand it, but he smiled at the great woman in front of him.

A few minutes later, Iroh made it out of the room where Prince Zuko was already waiting for Piandao to come inside. "My lady, it will be an honor to take care of your son, but for now, there is something you must do, and that is to convince our young prince to leave your custody in my hands." Piandao made a reverence; Iroh just scratched the back of his head confused, in front of his eyes there was a wealthy Fire Nation member, kneeling for a Water Tribe slave. "You are without a doubt, the wealthiest of all slaves."

Kaya made a reverence as well and then walked toward the room, but not before doing a reverence for Iroh as well who was still confused about what was going on, she closed the door behind her and then stood there in silence, waiting for the prince, who was currently walking from a side of the room to the other one nervously, to notice her, she cleared her throat winning the prince's attention. "Master Paiadao! I'm glad you are here… uh? You are not Master Piandao… you are that woman I saw at the market! I was right! You do look like my mother!"

"My name is Kaya; I am honored to meet you my young prince." Zuko smiled and grabbed her hand happily and then drove her toward a table in the middle of the room, sitting down and then asking Kaya to sit as well. "I'm impressed, some good manners you have." Zuko smiled happily, he couldn't help his excitement to be noticed, Kaya just smiled softly toward the boy who was amazed by her smile. "You are just like he used to be, so cheerful and cute."

"My name is Zuko, I saw you at the market this morning and I couldn't help but ask my uncle to buy you for me, I'm so glad! Then it is settled! You will be my new mother!" Kaya was surprised by that last, and so her smile faded and was replaced by concern as she faced the closed door at her back. "Is something wrong? You don't want to be my mother?" Zuko gave Kaya a hurt stare, Kaya felt her heart breaking.

"You surely look like him… those eyes full of concern… you must be a nice kid, Zuko, I'm glad you want me to be your mother… but I'm afraid I already have a son, and I'm here to ask you to allow me to serve Master Piandao and be with my son." Tears began forming at the corners of Zuko's eyes but he cleaned the tears away. "Prince Zuko?"

"I don't want to… I want you to be my mother… I feel so lonely… my mother was everything I had…" Kaya gave Zuko a sad stare, Zuko just moved his head away from her not wanting her to see him crying. "She died not long ago, she was murdered by a Water Tribe slave who ambushed her shortly after the meeting my father had with the Earth King, the murderer was never found… and I was left all alone… my father is always busy and depressed because of my mother's dead, and my sister is always annoying me… I don't want to be alone anymore, I want to have a mother, I want you to be my mother." Zuko cried hard, and Kaya couldn't help but hug him. "I will do anything but please, be my mother!"

"Anything?" Zuko nodded in agreement, Kaya stared at him for a while, and then at the closed door. "My son… I want him to be free… that's all I'm asking for… give my son his freedom and I will be your mother… can you do that for me?" Zuko moved his head in negation, Kaya's hopes lowered. "Is it because of this mark?" Zuko nodded. "I see… then… there is nothing I can do to save him… will you at least be his friend and play with him? That would make me happy, and I'm sure it would make him happy as well."

"Friend? But he is a slave and I'm a prince, I can't do that, it is forbidden." Zuko looked away and broke Kaya's hug. "Also… I have never had a friend before… I'm a prince and I am supposed to have friends of wealthy families… but there aren't many boys my age who are from royalty or want to be my friends." Kaya hugged him once again and smiled, Zuko blushed and gulped. "Will he be my friend?" Kaya nodded, a smile was drawn on the prince's face. "And will you be my mother!" Kaya nodded once again, Zuko jumped up and down happily as he hugged his new mother. "I'm so glad! Then my servants will clean you and give you some clean clothes." Many servants arrived and took Kaya away, Zuko just kept smiling and then walked out of the room.

Once out of the room, Zuko noticed the bruised and dirty boy at the couch, he was staring at Piandao with sadness evident in his eyes and Piandao was talking to him while cleaning his dirty face with a handkerchief while the young boy nodded and fought his tears. "I don't know if your mother will be able to convince the prince, but you must understand, your mother is only doing this because of you, and you need to be strong and live your life to make her happy, even if you are far from her, understood?" Sokka nodded and then noticed Zuko's presence.

"Uh? Hey, Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation here, umm… you are… Kaya's son, right?" Piandao stood up, made a reverence and then left the room, the two kids were left alone inside. "I'm Zuko and well… I… how should I say it…?"

"You don't have to explain it to me… your uncle and Master Piandao already told me you lost your mother to the hands of a Water Tribe slave… so, I guess I still have to pay for the sins of my tribe… what I need to know is… if you are allowing my Master to buy my mother back…" Sokka never dared to look at Zuko directly, and for some reason the prince was unable to see him directly either.

"I wish I could… but I don't want to… my mother was everything I had… but… if I took your mother away… I would be cruel and coldhearted… I don't know what to do." Sokka said noting but finally dared to face Zuko, the prince nervously looked away. "Uh… well… I… what should I do…? I don't want to… but she is your mother… I know how it is like to lose a mother…"

"Please take care of my mother." Zuko raised an eyebrow toward Sokka who began walking away, but before he went out of the room, Zuko stopped him. "Want to know why I am giving up on my mother?" Zuko nodded, Sokka just turned around to face him once again. "It is because Master Piandao called her the wealthiest of slaves… what better place to serve as a slave than the palace of the Fire Nation, she will have everything she needs here, and I will be happy just to know that… sorry if I'm confusing you… I was born in the middle of a war, and I don't know what it is like to be a kid… all I care about is my mother."

"I promise to take good care of your mother… excuse me… uh… will you be my friend?" This time it was Sokka's turn to raise an eyebrow at Zuko. "That way you will be able to see your mother at the palace, and also, I promise to never treat you like a slave and to teach you what to be a kid feels like!" Sokka said nothing, he just stared at Zuko. "The truth is… I'm lonely… my mother was my only friend… now I am alone…"

"…I don't know if I can be your friend… you are stealing my mother away from me after all…" Zuko faced away, that last hurt him a lot. "And thanks to this mark… I am a slave… and will always be a slave… you really promise never to treat me as a slave?" Zuko nodded in agreement. "If you break your promise… our friendship is over… do we have a deal?"

"That means you will be my friend?" Sokka nodded at the time he placed his hand in front of Zuko for him to shake, the prince took it gladly. "We have a deal then, but in order for me not to treat you as a slave and for you to freely come inside of the palace, you need to be my servant somehow… mind being a bodyguard? You are Master Piandao's protégé; you surely will be a great bodyguard."

"Bodyguard?" Zuko nodded in agreement, Sokka was left in deep thoughts. "I always wanted to be a great warrior, and now that I'm a slave perhaps this is my only chance to become a true warrior… but being Master Piandao's slave, I can't just ask him to be my master."

"He bought you and he is a nice person, I'm sure he will train you, I have had many sword teachers before, but Master Piandao never allows me to be his student, he says I don't have what it takes, but I'm sure you might have it." Sokka smiled his first real smile in a long time, Zuko smiled as well.

"You are not that bad for being Fire Nation… fine… I will be your bodyguard… the name is Sokka by the way, but I think Master Piandao wants to call me Lee." Zuko smiled, Sokka smiled as well, he wasn't sure about why, but he sort of felt free for the first time ever although he was now a slave. "…No more wars… no more battles… I'm free… despite this mark… I am free… perhaps one day I will be able to thank that girl…"


	3. From Slave to Peasant

**Slavery Mark: Book One – Fire.**

**Chapter Three: From Slave to Peasant.**

* * *

"Hung Gar is a Style of Kung Fu which concentrates your energy around your body by following a strict movement pattern. This move pattern resembles the movement of a mantis. In order to dominate this style of fighting you must practice your fighting postures daily and their variations for each situation, if you start now, you will probably master the Hung Gar in a couple of years." Toph was already practicing her movement pattern but she interrupted her training after hearing that last, losing her almost perfect equilibrium and falling down to the ground of the arena they were at. "Concentrate! Your movement must be perfect if you want to master this technique on time!"

"On time? You just said it was going to take me two years to master this technique! When are you going to teach me real earthbending? We have been doing this Hung Gar stuff for a month!" Toph rubbed her back carefully and then stood up, Yu just walked slowly to where she was and placed a caring hand on top of the princess's head who 'stared' at Yu with eyes of concern and impatience. "You said you were going to teach me real earthbending."

"And I also told you I was going to teach you techniques that even the Dai Li don't know. Toph, you are blind, but you are also a prodigy in the art of earthbending, we must exploit your gifts." Toph cleaned the disappointed tears away from her eyes and 'faced' the ground ashamed. "Don't do that Toph, I don't like to see that hurt face of yours, mastering the Hung Gar will define your earthbending style, you have a fragile body and do many unnecessary moves, the Hung Gar will be really helpful for you in the future."

"But I need to be strong now! Two years is a lot of time! What if I meet with that boy again tomorrow and he makes fun of me because I am weak?" Yu laughed out loud, which angered Toph a little. "Master! Don't make fun of me! I want to be strong! I want to be the best Dai Li agent ever! And I want to be stronger than Avatar Kyoshi."

"You still have a lot of work to do before learning the basics of earthbending. First is the Hung Gar, once that is done we will have a bigger challenge ahead of us." Toph raised an eyebrow at Master Yu who poked her nose, she giggled at that last. "Your attitude, you can't be an earthbender if you are sweat and happy about everything, you need to be serious." Yu then slammed his foot hard and forced a rock to fly in front of his face. "Determined." He then grabbed the rock with his hands strongly and moved his head back a little. "And strong!" And then he slammed his forehead hard at the rock, crushing it upon contact. Toph crossed her arms angrily after feeling her master being a show off. "That's a nice start, but you know what you need? Sarcasm! That would definitively mold your earthbending attitude." Toph raised an eyebrow once again. "Don't tell me you don't know what sarcasm is."

"Do I look like I know?" Master Yu slapped his forehead hard; apparently, sarcasm was natural on Toph, although she didn't know that yet. "Master Yu! Tomorrow is the trip to the Fire Nation, it is going to be my first time away from Ba Sing Se and I want to be strong for that trip, and I surely want to show that boy I'm not the weakling he thinks I am!" Master Yu ignored the 'boy' part and gave more attention to the 'trip' part; after all, the Fire Nation wasn't at all an ally of the Earth Kingdom anymore.

"Speaking of that trip, I don't think you should go there with Long Feng as your bodyguard, the Fire Nation is a problematic land ruled by a greedy Fire Lord, and now that the Water Tribe is surrendering to the Fire Nation I doubt the uneasy peace between the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation will be able to last for much longer." Master Yu rubbed Toph's head carefully and messed her perfectly bun-fixed hair.

"That's the reason of why I need to know earthbending before the trip." Master Yu laughed at the girl's impatience; Toph just fixed her hair back to her usual bun. "So please, Master Yu, I need to be able to take care of myself and be strong, I really need to know earthbending… please! I'm begging you!" Once again Master Yu found himself with the attitude problem, in order for Toph to be a real earthbender she needed to be rude and determined, not sweet and cute.

"You won't do such a thing until you change that attitude of yours and master the Hung Gar." Toph crossed her arms annoyed; Master Yu then rubbed his beard for a while and then smiled. "What if I travel to the Fire Nation with you, we can continue your training there." Toph smiled and then hugged Master Yu hard. "Then it is settled, I will ask your father to leave your custody to me." Toph giggled, and Yu cursed her sweet attitude once again and asked her over and over to be more rude and strong.

* * *

"An announcement?" Zuko and Sokka were having a sparing combat with wooden made swords at the green fields of the Fire Palace when Zuko's younger sister and her friends arrived with the news of a peace announcement. "You just want to interrupt my training! My father hasn't invited me to any meeting since my mother passed away, quit bothering me." Azula smiled evilly at her brother who tried to ignore that smile and continued with his sparing.

"Zuzu, you are hurting the feelings of your sweet little sister." Zuko lost his balance after hearing his awful nickname and was almost hit by Sokka's wooden sword; the Water Tribe slave just took a deep breath and abandoned the sparing training.

"If you aren't going to concentrate there is no use to keep training, just listen to what your sister has to say so we can continue." Azula smiled softly toward Sokka, who was freaked out by that smile. "Anyway… peace announcements are good news, maybe your father, Fire Lord Ozai, needs you there for something important. That's the way royalty do their stuff."

"Ah! Sokka is so smart! And he is so cute!" Sokka was freaked out once again by his number one fan girl, Ty Lee, who threw herself to his arms and hugged him hard. "And he has such a good taste on clothing! Let me see that leather made glove you wear at your right hand! It looks so hot; don't you want to take it off?" Sokka and Zuko both flinched, Sokka's slavery mark was supposed to be a secret, but each time Ty Lee arrived she wanted to see that glove. "Please show it to me!"

"Ty Lee, quit bothering Piandao's son, this is a serious talk." Sokka's life was a lie, but although he still had slave's responsibilities toward Piandao, he could almost live a normal life by wearing that glove and pretending to be Piandao's son, fooling everyone into believing he was a normal Fire Nation peasant who befriended the prince. "Here is what I know; Fire Lord Ozai and Earth King Lao Bei Fong are going to have a meeting tomorrow morning with the Water Tribe Leader Hakoda."

"Ha-Hakoda!" Sokka covered his mouth at the mention of his father's name. Zuko and Azula both delivered weird looks at Sokka while Ty Lee took advantage of that situation to hug Sokka from behind. "So… sorry about that, it's just… I have heard some awful rumors about Hakoda, it must be really scary to have him here." Sokka then felt his ear being pulled hard; and so he turned around to face Mai, another of Azula's friends who was giving him an annoying stare.

"Peasants are not allowed to hear royalty conversations…and it is forbidden to interrupt them as well… go away peasant boy…" Sokka looked at Mai angrily and walked away annoyed and cursing the girl since she was always messing with him and trying to drive him away from Zuko, The Fire Nation Prince was worried about Sokka, but being a peasant was way better than being a slave. "Prince Zuko, I must beg you to stay away from that peasant, even if he is Piandao's son, he is not part of the royal families, this kind of matters are not supposed to be heard by his kind."

"Such strong words, Mai, but I think the same way, no matter how handsome Piandao's son might be, he is just a peasant." Zuko stared at his sister with anger but she ignored his stare. "Anyway, this is an important meeting." Azula looked around to make sure no one was overhearing their conversation and then continued. "I heard the Avatar is going to come." Everyone's eyes widened at that last. "So, you need to be there, don't dare bringing Piandao's son with you, don't get me wrong, I wish he could come and make me some company, but we need to be in good terms with father." Azula smiled evilly once again and clapped her hands twice so her friends would follow her. "Oh! And Zuzu. Tell Piandao's son to become a bodyguard soon so we can see him at the palace more often."

"That girl is so weird, I hate her so much… and his name is Sokka!" Azula ignored Zuko's yell and walked away, Zuko just made his way toward Sokka, who was currently staring at his mother while she cleaned the palace as part of her slavery shores. "Sokka, I'm sorry about what Mai said to you, she can be cold sometimes but I'm sure she has a kind heart… way deep inside… but I'm sure she has one… are you ok?"

Sokka took a deep breath and then faced Zuko. "Hakoda is my father." Zuko took a while to understand that last but then flinched in surprise. "I haven't seen him in a while, I thought he had died, if he is alive maybe my sister is alive as well." Zuko placed his hand at Sokka's shoulder and so he was driven back to reality. "I'm sorry… I know… I'm a slave and you are trying so hard to give me a new life, but I must know if my sister is still alive."

"What happened to your sister? Thinking about it carefully, I know nothing about your life before you arrived to the Fire Nation… is it true what they say about the Water Tribe?" Sokka looked at Zuko a little annoyed. "Don't get me wrong, I'm just curious, there are many horrible stories about how the Water Tribe wanted the supremacy of its element, and how they drowned half of the world in their desire of power, I just want to know how much of it is true and why are you here knowing your father is the leader of your tribe."

"Sadly… it is true… Avatar Kuruk wanted the supremacy of his element and unleashed the Avatar State… drowning half of the world is an exaggeration, but he did destroy whole villages using his power, no one knows why he did what he did, but that was the beginning of the war…" Zuko said nothing; he just played with his wooden sword not wanting to face Sokka. "Avatar Kuruk… was my ancestor, ever since he passed away his successors have followed his steps, all of them searching for the supremacy of their element… that was until Avatar Aang came to our village."

"The… the Avatar! But he never leaves his temple! Did you meet him? Is he strong as Avatar Roku?" Sokka moved his head in negation. "Yeah, he is an Air Nomad; he is a pacifist, if I had that much power I would have ended the war long time ago." Sokka's face lowered, Zuko just flinched. "I didn't mean attacking your tribe, perhaps just scare them a little and act all mighty and god-like… changing subjects, what was the Avatar doing there, and what happened to your village?"

"Avatar Aang asked my mother, the queen of our tribe, to surrender; at first she refused, she said it was her destiny to lead her tribe to victory and find peace… then Avatar Aang said there was always another way and that war wasn't the answer she was looking for, she wanted peace, and for peace to exist, sacrifices needed to be made." Sokka felt a tear trying to escape from his eyes but he cleaned it away. "Then my mother send a message to the Earth Kingdom announcing our defeat, but the Earth King was greedy and asked for a tribute… he asked my mother and our army to be sold as slaves in order to keep our promise of peace… I couldn't allow my mother to go alone and so I left with them."

"How sad… so you left your father and your sister to be with your mother… somehow it doesn't seem to be the end of the story… what happened? Why do you fear for your sister's life?" Sokka closed his gloved hand into a fist but swallowed his anger. "My nation attacked your tribe… right?"

"The day our ship was leaving, black snow fell from the sky… and at the distance; we could see our village burning…and the flag of the Fire Nation standing tall." Zuko looked away ashamed, but Sokka never reflected any hash feeling at all. "But not for long, that last attack angered Avatar Aang and he destroyed the whole invasion force on his own, we wanted to go back, but my mother told us it was of no use and that the South Pole had finally fallen, that last attack from the Fire Nation inspired Bato, our second leader, to start a rebellion at the Earth Kingdom… our last attack, just because we wanted to have our payback… how stupid we were, maybe we are wild somehow, we knew it was of no use… but we just did it because of revenge… maybe I really am the bad guy of this story… all I could think about during that battle was to avenge my sister…" For a while, there was silence and a fake smile drawn on Sokka's face, but then a real one appeared on Zuko's lips.

"I promise I will take you with me to the meeting." Sokka was surprised by that last. "You want to know if your sister is still alive, then I will make sure that doubt won't haunt you anymore." Sokka smiled, Sokka was at first unsure of this supposed friendship, but thanks to Zuko, he didn't feel like a slave anymore, sure, he was insulted by the royal members for being a peasant, but that was better than walking around with that mark on his right hand. "But you must promise, no matter what happens, you can't allow your father or your sister to see you."

"I know, it would be dangerous… you know… before Mai kicked me out of the conversation, I noticed something… Bei Fong… that name sounds familiar." Sokka took his usual thinking posture trying to force his brain to remember the owner of that name. "Bei Fong… that girl! No way! Toph Bei Fong was her name! If she sees me my secret will be exposed! She is an idiot and will surely screw it all up!"

"Hey! Sokka, calm down! Who is that girl? Lao Bei Fong has no daughter." Sokka stared at Zuko with surprise. "I'm from royalty and I am supposed to know the family trees of each wealthy family on the Earth Kingdom, Lao Bei Fong has no daughter… she died in a terrible accident by the mines of Ba Sing Se long time ago… but keep this a secret, I have heard she didn't die in an accident… I heard she was murdered by her royal advisor, Long Feng." Sokka allowed his wooden sword to hit the ground. "Sokka, are you ok?" He ignored him and walked away, leaving the prince of the Fire Nation confused and once again alone.

* * *

"My King, I kindly ask you to leave the custody of your daughter in my hands, the Fire Nation is a dangerous place for the young princess, I, as the best earthbender in the whole kingdom, swear I will protect my princess with my life!" Master Yu kneeled for the Earth King who was by his throne watching Master Yu carefully and half annoyed by his sudden invasion to the throne. Yu wasn't allowed inside, but he made his way to the throne on his own.

"My King, this person right here ignored your rules and fought his way inside of the castle even knowing it is forbidden for anyone to meet the Earth King without the proper permit from the authorities of our kingdom." The Earth King said nothing; he just kept staring at Master Yu and at his daughter hiding behind the destroyed doors. "My king, I will command the Dai Li to escort him out of the palace if those are your wishes."

"I trained the Dai Li! You might be their leader but it is me the real power behind the Dai Li!" Long Feng stayed in silence and the Earth King finally stood up from his throne. "My king, I am worried about the princess's welfare, I'm just offering my services so I can protect her, and we all know Long Feng can't do this job properly, are you willing to lose your daughter as you lost her at the mines while Long Feng was taking care of her?" Long Feng delivered a furious stare at Master Yu and was about to speak out when the king spoke out first.

"Why are you hiding from me, Toph?" The princess was hiding herself behind the destroyed doors; she had followed Master Yu around the palace and was impressed by his display of technique and raw power, only she also knew she shouldn't bother her father at the throne room, and so she kept her distance so far. "Come here, I rarely see my daughter. Come and give daddy a nice hug, my princess." Toph smiled and ran toward her father and hugged him hard, the King returned the hug. "That's my little princess, are these two old men bothering you?" Toph giggled happily but moved her head in negation. "Is that so? I'm impressed, you are only five and these two are already fighting over you, I'm so proud of my little girl… so, my princess, Master Yu says he wants to play with you while your busy father rules this boring kingdom, what do you think?"

"But your highness… the princess is too young to understand these kinds of situations; perhaps it would be better if you took that decision yourself, your majesty." Master Yu laughed out loud, Long Feng was always good at controlling others, but once Toph was in the middle the king was a totally different person, not one Long Feng could control easily.

"Long Feng, I'm asking my daughter what she wants, are you trying to tell me you are afraid she will pick Master Yu instead of you?" Long Feng said nothing. "So, my princess. Who will it be? Which ugly person will you pick to be your guardian?" Long Feng was sick of the whole fatherly-love situation, but Master Yu was pleased to know the Earth King cared for his daughter this much.

"Daddy! I'm not a little girl anymore, I'm strong! And Master Yu is teaching me sarcasm! Do I really have to pick a babysitter all the time?" Lao laughed and hugged his daughter, she hugged him back. "You are evil… I like Long Feng way more than Master Yu." Long Feng smiled proud of himself, Master Yu just crossed his arms annoyed. "But Master Yu is funnier, and doesn't stink like Long Feng." This time Master Yu was the one making fun of Long Feng by covering his nose. "So I think I will pick Master Yu." Long Feng was angry but tried hard to pretend it was ok, fortunately for Toph, she was being carried around the room by her father and she couldn't feel those vibrations.

"Then it is settled, Master Yu will escort you to the Fire Nation while Long Feng stays here and takes care of my business." Long Feng was about to complain when the Earth King gave him one of his serious looks. "And that's my final decision." Long Feng took a deep breath in defeat and cursed Master Yu. "Now, my princess, go and play while I speak with these two old hags for a while." Toph nodded in agreement and then ran away happily and giggling all the time. Once she was gone, Lao Bei Fong took his usual serious pose. "Master Yu, you better not disappoint me as Long Feng did not long ago, that incident with the slaves could have killed my daughter, I won't allow a mistake like that to ever happen again!"

"I understand, I will take good care of your daughter, now if you excuse me, I have an Earth Princess to take care of." He said that last making a mockery face toward Long Feng, who cursed Master Yu over and over again between teeth.

* * *

At the Fire Nation, preparations were already being made for the arrival of the representatives of the different cultures, many wealthy members from both the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom were already at the ceremony hall enjoying drinks and sharing bad jokes, Zuko was worried about Sokka and was searching for him around the castle, Sokka had left the palace after hearing the news of the daughter of the Bei Fong family and without giving him an explanation after all. "Come on Sokka, where are you? The heads of each nation are almost here."

"Zuzu! I told you not to bring Piandao's son to the meeting!" Zuko turned around slowly and looked at his sister, who was now fixing her hair madly and trying to make it look perfect. "If you were going to invite him you could have told me earlier! Look at my hair, it is a mess! I am so going to challenge you to Agni Kai after the meeting!"

"Why do you care about what he thinks about your hair? He is afraid of you, can't you see that?" Azula slammed her foot hard at the floor and Zuko flinched. "See? That's exactly what I am talking about! Everyone fears you, how do you plan to get a boyfriend with that attitude?"

"Like you could get a girl yourself with the pitiful prince one! You are always by yourself sobbing and being all lonely, if it wasn't for Piandao's son you would have no friends!" Zuko grabbed his sister's collar angrily. "Now there, Zuzu, are you being a man now?"

"Shut up! And his name is Sokka! Maybe if you called him by his name instead of treating him like a peasant he would probably notice you!" The little familiar discussion ended once Sokka arrived and cleared his throat to win their attention. "Sokka! You came!"

"Ah! My hair!" Sokka raised an eyebrow. "I mean… Piandao's son, you are here, I thought Mai told you not to come, but now that you are here I guess it is ok for you to enjoy the meeting." Sokka said nothing; Azula just smiled nervously and kicked Zuko before running away. "See you around, Zuzu! Try not to be late!"

"Don't call me Zuzu!" Once Azula was gone Zuko finally turned around to face Sokka, who kept his emotionless stare. "What took you so long? I went through hell to convince my uncle to allow you inside; he made me play the tsungi horn! You know how embarrassing that is! You own me a big one!" Sokka said nothing, he just kept his silence. "…Sokka? Hey, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing… do you know if my father is here? Is my sister with him?" Zuko moved his shoulders up and down as reply. "I see, I just want to know if she is alive, that's all I want, I don't even want to see her, it would be sad, so… I think I'm skipping the meeting, sorry about the tsungi horn part, I promise to make it up to you, just let me know if there was a girl with the leader of the Water Tribe a year younger than me." Sokka waved his hand to Zuko and then walked away. Zuko was about to go after him when his arm was pulled by a running Azula who kept yelling 'They are here' all the time.

Sokka allowed a deep breath to escape his lungs and then walked away toward the palace's green fields, he wanted to be alone, he was depressed but had no idea of why, he already went through the feeling of probably losing his sister, and the shocking state in which he was not long ago after losing his mother to Zuko, he even got used to live as Piandao's slave and be treated like a peasant by the wealthy members of the Fire Nation, but his depression found it's source when he heard the news of the daughter of the Bei Fong family dying in a terrible accident. "I never thanked her… actually; I never thought I wanted to thank her since she was my enemy… but now that I am a slave… and that I don't see her like my enemy… I feel bad for her… after all, she was always so kind to me…"

"Lady Bei Fong! Don't run away like that!" Sokka's thoughts were then interrupted, by the palace's gardens a girl was running and giggling happily, being chased by what Sokka suspected was her babysitter, then it hit him, the name Bei Fong was used once again, and toward a little girl. "I know you are feeling all kind of new vibrations my lady, but you have a meeting with Fire Lord Ozai and his family! You can't be late to that meeting!"

"I don't care! There are many ugly vibrations inside of the palace, but here they are all peaceful and different, I want to experiment all sort of new vibrations!" Toph kept running leaving behind a gasping for air Master Yu, who was already regretting taking the position of guardian from Long Feng. Sokka stayed there for a while just staring at the girl running from a side of the field to the other one happily, but then he took a step forward, that step was enough to stop Toph's march. "…I know these steps…" She 'faced' the direction she felt the vibrations coming from and then smiled. "It's you!" Toph was about to run to where Sokka was but stopped. "Be sarcastic, don't act weak, I'm strong!" She said that last to herself.

"You… are alive…?" Toph said nothing, she didn't understand the meaning of that last. "I knew Zuko was wrong!" Toph jumped in surprise as she felt Sokka's vibrations running her way and then felt his body hugging hers. Toph felt a weird feeling; she was smiling and unable to hide it, even knowing moments before she was telling herself she was strong. "I'm glad you are ok." Sokka smiled for her, totally forgetting the girl was blind.

"You are being weird!" Sokka kept his smile, Toph, although being unable to see, could tell he was smiling and smiled as well. "I'm strong now! I know sarcasm and Hung Gar! If you ever call me weak I will slam that smile out of your face!" She was half being serious half being her usual self, but Sokka didn't care about that last. "I'm glad you are ok! I was afraid Long Feng wouldn't keep his promise, but I'm so glad to know he did." That name made some kind of echo inside Sokka's head but he was unable to remember who it belonged to, but it was of no importance since that girl who spared his life was alive.

"Ah, so this is what Lady Bei Fong meant with 'that boy' I thought she was way too young for this kind of relationships." Master Yu smiled to himself at the distance and walked away, allowing both kids to have a moment of peace in the middle of the hard times that were about to come. "It is so sad, but fortunately, Toph is too young to feel something for that kid, no matter how much she cares for him, he is just a Fire Nation peasant, and she must live around royalty… well then, as her tutor I can do nothing but wait and see what is going to happen."

* * *

"Hurry up Zuzu!" Zuko wanted to curse his sister for that last, he hated that nickname a lot and he knew she only used it to bother him, but this time he was unable to start their usual argument, Fire Lord Ozai was already at the meeting hall, the whole palace was in silence, he was waiting for his daughter and son to arrive before starting the meeting with Hakoda, the leader of his tribe. "Look Zuzu, that's Hakoda, the Blade of the South!"

"Blade of the South?" Azula took her place next to her Father and so did Zuko, Hakoda was alone, no soldier was escorting him, there was no army as Zuko thought there was going to be, only a leader wearing his tribe's armor. "He doesn't look as scary as in our nation's history books." Azula placed her finger in front of her face so Zuko would shut up; his father was already in his usual offensive position.

"Hakoda, the great leader of the Southern Water tribe, after 500 years of war, it is your blood the one surrendering, you must feel helpless, I'm glad." Zuko hated this arrogant side of his father, but at the same time respected him, after all, he was the one raising his nation from the deplorable state it had during his grandfather's reign. "Now, let's talk about business, in a few hours I have an important meeting with the Earth King, I plan to have you leaving my nation before he arrives."

"Don't get me wrong, Ozai, I might be surrendering, but I demand your respect." Ozai smiled to him, Hakoda just kept his defiant posse. "You will respect my position, because I brought an intermediary with me." Ozai's smile faded, some steps behind the leader of the Southern Water Tribe, a wise old man with a long white mustache was walking his way to place himself in the middle of both leaders.

"Ozai, you will respect this man as your equal since it is me, Avatar Aang, the one asking you to do it, the audience will take place as planned, the representatives of the four nations will find peace by a friendly way, if you want to fight, then…" Ozai stepped back and took a defensive position. "You will do it at Pai Sho!" Aang began laughing out loud, Ozai in the other hand was angry at the peaceful air nomad. "What do we have here? A beautiful and sort of scary looking Fire Princes and a timid but good hearted Fire Prince." Azula made a reverence and so did Zuko after noticing Azula's actions. "Ozai, you will treat this man as your equal not because he has the same power you have, but because both of you have something in common, you both are family guys and care about your children more than anything else."

Avatar Aang moved his hand like asking for someone to come and grab it, just then a young girl wearing a beautiful blue coat walked toward the Avatar, she had tanned skin and beautiful blue eyes, Zuko was amazed by her beauty and couldn't help but allow a blush to color his cheeks. "My name is Katara, second children of Hakoda and Kaya, heads of my tribe, now only child… pleased to meet you…"

"She… she is… beautiful." Avatar Aang laughed out loud, Ozai and Azula just raised their eyebrows at Zuko in unison. "We… welcome to our nation!" Azula began moving her hand from a side of her throat to the other one asking Zuko to shut up; unfortunately, Ozai was already losing his temper. Zuko flinched when looking at his father's face and then continued the talk for himself. "…So, she is… she must be… Sokka's sister… lucky guy… at least your sister is cute…"

"So, let's get this meeting started!" The tension was interrupted by Aang, who waved his staff in midair happily and began making noise all around the palace, Zuko was ashamed by the sudden reaction he had toward the daughter of Hakoda and thought about making a reverence to excuse himself, but Azula stopped him. "Listen to your sister, young boy, we don't want family problems, today is a happy day since we finally have peace by peaceful ways, so let this meeting be a celebration!"


	4. A Wedding Promise

**Slavery Mark: Book One – Fire.**

**Chapter Four: A Wedding Promise.**

* * *

"Ah! Earth King Lao Bei Fong, it is a pleasure to have you here on my nation." Fire Lord Ozai greeted his long time 'ally' to his nation with all the possible respect he could find, which wasn't much since Ozai only looked at the Bei Fong Family as nothing more than a toll to help him get rid of the annoying and wild Water Tribe. "My condolences on your daughter's terrible accident, such news must have weakened you, allow my slaves to take care of all your needs." Ozai waved his hand at his newest slave whose name was of no importance to him. "You will stay by the king's side and obey his every command."

"That won't be necessary, my friend." Lao Bei Fong smiled, Ozai forced himself to smile as well and then waved his hand for Kaya to walk away. "Today we are supposed to declare peace with the Water Tribe, but such a territory is of no importance to my Kingdom, so I will gladly leave the whole control of that land to you, of course it also means you will have to pay some tributes to my Kingdom for the favor and constant military support." Kaya lowered her face after hearing that last, after five hundred years of war; her Tribe was delivered as a present to the Fire Nation, only for a small amount of gold in return. She finally began wondering about the supposed 'supremacy' of her element, and walked away. "By the way, Lord Ozai, how is your family doing? I'm particularly interested in your son since he will replace you as Fire Lord someday, is he up to your expectations?"

"Not at all, he is soft, just as his mother was, sometimes I think my familiar legacy should rest on my daughter's shoulders, but leaving that aside, the Avatar made an unexpected visit which I wasn't contemplating, he is… fooling around with my son and daughter, how can such a fool be the current Avatar." Ozai's hands were closed into fists; Lao just kept his coolness and walked toward the so familiar meeting room where the so called leader of the Water Tribe waited.

"So, this is the famous Hakoda… the Blade of the South… what a pity, to have failed your tribe in such a terrible way." Hakoda said nothing; he just stayed there at the meeting room with his eyes shut and trying not to let his wild side to take over of him. "I am disappointed, your tribe fought hard even at the capital of my Kingdom, and your wife and son suddenly disappeared… I wonder if that was your doing."

"My son? Is he still alive?" Lao gave Hakoda a distrusting look which Hakoda tried to ignore. "No wonder this must be Bato's doing… I apologize… I will make sure to pay for every damage that was done… tonight I'm here to surrender, my army was sold as slaves, my wife stripped of her royalty status and my son… is much likely dead… there is nothing left for me but my daughter and I wish to seal a peace treaty in which I can drive my tribe into an era of peace and prosperity, I'm not asking for anything else…" The sick laughter of Ozai was his only reply; Lao in the other hand said nothing and took a sit at the meeting room.

"I can't believe this; did you hear him, Lao? Even now he tries to act as a member of royalty." Hakoda made a reverence and sat down so the meeting could start, but Ozai wasn't done yet with the insults. "Listen carefully you wild beast, if it weren't because of the Avatar, you wouldn't have set feet inside my royal chamber, you are no different from the rest of my slaves, but just for this once we will seal a treaty with one of your kind, and I plan to strip you from any possible control you have over your tribe, there is not such a thing as a future for you or your kind."

"That's not for you to decide, Ozai, and I won't tolerate more racist behaviors from your part." At last, Avatar Aang walked inside of the meeting room, Ozai bit his lips hard trying to swallow all his anger and then his eyes went into a rage after noticing both of his blood line successors holding the Avatar's hands and smiling. "As the Avatar, it is me who will take the final decision, I will hear each of your peace offerings and chose the most suitable one, one in which every culture can have what it deserves." Avatar Aang placed his skinny hands on top of Azula's and Zuko's heads and then smiled. "After all, the future of your cultures no longer rest on your shoulders but in the ones of your sons and daughters… now, you kids go play with Princess Katara, she looks lonely and in need of a friend."

"Eh? But Mr. Avatar, she is Water Tribe; it's not like us of royalty to speak to the likes of a Water Tribe member." Ozai smiled proudly of his daughter's knowledge about the royalty status; Avatar Aang in the other hand just smiled and rubbed Azula's head softly.

"Young lady, in your eyes I see a lot, it is your destiny to become a great leader, or an imperialist symbol of war, you must be careful and take the right decisions, or else your future will be dark and lonely." Azula said nothing; she was unable to understand what was said to her. "And you my young Prince… you must also be careful, since you will have to take a very important decision that will decide the course of our future… now then, old Aangy needs to settle peace between these stubborn old men." Azula and Zuko both made a reverence, and so, Avatar Aang closed the doors of the meeting room using his Airbending skills which surprised both kids a lot.

"Wow! Azula! Did you see that? He used Airbending!" Azula ignored Zuko and walked away annoyed while cleaning her hand with her dress. "What are you doing? Why are you cleaning your hand like that… you only do that each time you touch a slave…"

"I thought the Avatar was a wise and powerful semi god-like entity, not an old and annoying man, he doesn't deserve to touch a royalty hand." Zuko rolled his eyes annoyed and while rolling them he noticed Katara was standing there with her almost emotionless eyes staring directly at Zuko and Azula. "What are you looking at? Water Tribe freak."

"Azula! Don't talk to her like that, she is a member of royalty and deserves our respect!" Azula made a mockery sound and then walked away. "Hey, Azula! Don't ignore our guest!" She waved her hand at him in annoyance and continued her march toward nowhere. "Suit yourself! Uh… I apologize… I know my sister can be a pain sometimes, but I'm sure she has a caring heart, she is just… not used to speak to your kind…"

"…My kind…?" Zuko flinched, Katara just looked away. "So… you are the same as every Fire Nation kid… spoiled and selfish… if you excuse me, our conversation ends here." Katara walked away, Zuko slapped his own forehead hard ashamed about what he just said to her and then ran toward her and cut her march.

"I… I apologize, I didn't want to say what I said, it's just Azula says things like that all the time, I just sort of… got used to them… ah… my name is Zuko… but I think you already knew that… do you want to… play for a while?" Katara ignored Zuko and walked away. "Hey! Wait! I'm trying to be nice! I'm not trying to make fun of you!"

"…Your 'kind' took my mother away from me… as well as my dear brother who swore to be by my side forever… that's something I will never be able to forget… and something I will never forgive your 'kind' for…" Zuko said nothing; he just stared at Katara for a long time until the girl turned around to face him. "My father may be trying to find peace… but once I'm old enough and take over my mother's duties as the leader of our tribe… you can be sure war will start again, and this time… I will end it…" Katara's face began filling itself with tears and so she ran away while crying hard, Zuko just stood there depressed and blaming himself for his Nation's sins.

* * *

"This place is great! It's very peaceful and people feel to be happy. Back in my home everyone is in a rush, full of work and politics and stuffs like that, it isn't funny." Toph stretched her arms and legs and rested her body at the soft and fresh grass, giggling as the blades of the grass tickled her nose. "How was your life at the South Pole? Was it better than being here?"

"You really have no idea of what being a slave means, do you?" Toph moved her head in negation; Sokka took a deep breath but smiled for the blind girl, not really knowing why. "Now that you mention it, life was hard at the South Pole… we were always training ourselves for war, living with fear, always wondering when was the Earth Kingdom going to attack and how were we going to defend ourselves, always waiting for the next full moon to take the initiative."

"Full Moon? What's a moon?" Sokka stared at Toph with disbelief, the blind girl 'faced' him back a little confused. Sokka then laughed at her. "You are evil! Just like Master Yu! It's not my fault to be blind." This time Toph was depressed, she usually didn't complain about being blind, but she couldn't help to feel down whenever someone mentioned something she couldn't see or understand.

"Sorry, I wasn't trying to make fun of you… but I think I can explain to you everything you don't know." Toph smiled and the boy smiled back. "Ok then, the moon is… like a giant rounded rock that flies in the sky… wait, you don't know what the sky is… mhh… let's say the moon just floats on top of you." Toph covered her head, Sokka clutched at the view. "Not like that, you idiot! I mean way too high! And no, it won't fall on top of your head!"

"How can a giant rock fly? Is someone earthbending it?" Sokka slapped his forehead hard, Toph just giggled. "It's ok, I don't really care, it's just I always hear things that I don't understand, and perhaps never will, I just want to have at least a minor idea, and I can't ask Master Yu because he is always bossy and asking me to be rude and strong and forcing me to use sarcasm and I'm always like 'whatever you say oh my all mighty earthbending teacher' whatever sarcasm is most be hard to learn…" Sokka blinked twice; Toph surely was a sarcasm master but just couldn't figure it out. "…Can you give me more explanations? I want to know… what does it means to be a slave?" At this question the boy lowered his head. Toph was able to feel his vibrations and her head lowered as well. "You are a slave, but I don't know what that means or why people are so sad by being called slaves."

"Being a slave means you have no freedom. It's hard, people always treats you as if you were nothing, hitting you and ordering you to do things they don't want to do because they think they are superior to us slaves… a slave can't speak to someone if they aren't ordered to do it, and we can't do what we want because we have no right to do it, it is sad." Toph's face lowered even more, Sokka flinched at that last. "But it's ok! My life isn't like that all the time, Master Piandao is taking good care of me, ordering me easy tasks and allowing me to visit prince Zuko if I finish my shores on time."

"Long Feng said something similar but he used some horrible words… for him… slaves deserve to be treated that way because they deserve it." Once again the name of Long Feng echoed inside of Sokka's head but he never cared, he hated to see that expression drawn on Toph's face. "I'm sorry; I never thought being a slave was this hard, isn't there anything I can do?" The little girl's eyes were already watering, Sokka just smiled for her once again.

"It's ok, being a slave isn't nice, that's for sure, but prince Zuko is helping me hide my slavery status, hiding this horrible mark behind a glove with the royal family emblem carved on it and acting like a general's son. It's hard sometimes to pretend not to be a slave and eat all the hatred I feel toward wealthy members for treating other slaves as garbage, but at least I'm not trapped inside of one of Ba Sing Se's mines…" He stopped there, Sokka had heard some horrible rumors about Toph and the mines of Ba Sing Se, but he was enjoying the moment and wasn't planning in ruining it by asking her about the truth.

"…Say, Sokka… there is something I don't understand…" Sokka smiled once again and waited for Toph to continue. "It is something I have been asking Long Feng and Master Yu for quite a while now, but each time I ask them they ignore me or change the subject… I think maybe you will be able to help me since you are my dearest friend!" Sokka blushed, he knew he enjoyed the girl's company, but he never actually saw her as a friend, just someone he liked to be with. "…What does it means to be engaged?"

Sokka blinked twice at the girl who began playing with her fingers nervously, many had ignored that question before and she was afraid she had said something bad. "…En-engaged? I mean, of course I know what that means but, well… it is different for each culture… why do you wish to know that anyway? How old are you? Five or something?" Toph nodded in agreement. "And they said I was mature for my age, a girl as young as you have no need to know about this kind of things."

"But you know! And you aren't that older than me! It's not fair! I also wish to know! You said you would explain the things I couldn't understand! Don't be a liar! I don't like liars!" Sokka poked his ears after hearing all of Toph's strong yells and then faced the girl nervously. "I really wish to know… everyone keeps saying things like: weddings, engagement, bride, groom and they seem to be very happy about it, their vibrations also seem to be filled with joy and happiness… I want to know what it is because I like those vibrations…"

"Why do you keep talking about vibrations all the time? I can't understand a thing of what you are saying, nice vibrations here, bad vibrations there, would you mind explaining it to me?" Toph said nothing, she just began cleaning the betraying tears away from her eyes, Sokka crossed his arms in annoyance and took one of his usual thinking postures. "Fine. I will tell you what being engaged means if you tell me about the vibrations you feel." She jumped toward him and hugged him hard, he just blushed as a reply and then pushed her away from him half annoyed. "Don't do that!"

"Meany!" Sokka rolled his eyes, but Toph never noticed as usual. "A couple of badgermoles taught me how to 'see' a few months ago when I got lost inside of Ba Sing Se's mines." Sokka's eyes widened open; he never wanted to touch that subject since he was enjoying the time but found himself there by accident. "They were blind, just like me, and so I learned how to use my earthbending to search inside of the vibrations and know what was around me, with some practice, I understood each vibration had a meaning, objects, voices, feelings, everything produces a vibration which I can feel and understand, I'm still discovering a lot of uses for my vibrating sensing, and so I enjoy 'nice' vibrations, that's why I wish to know what all this wedding and engagement stuff is all about, since it produces such wonderful vibrations, now, tell me what you know about the subject."

Sokka was amazed by what he just heard, about the badgermoles and getting lost inside of the mine, and then at the vibration learning part, she was awesome, and so, he smiled, forgetting about the rumors and finally keeping his part of the deal. "Fine, being engaged is complicated, normally it is grown up stuff, but for my tribe it is common knowledge, although I'm not sure I know about marriage in the Earth Kingdom."

"Please tell me!" Sokka flinched a little at the knowledge-freak girl in front of him who seemed to be about to break into tears at any moment again. "It doesn't matter which culture it is, marriage must be something beautiful because people is always happy when talking about it, I just wish to know… because I feel sad most of the time."

"Ok, but quit being so heart breaking! It's turning out to be annoying!" Toph cleaned her tears away once again and took a sit closer to Sokka. "Marriage is something a woman and a man do… I know the Air nomads monks can't get married, only common nomads can since their civilization is based on internal peace and the so called 'conditioning of mind and body in favor of the spirit' and they throw a huge ceremony each time a nomad of their civilization is about to get married."

"Then getting married is part of a spiritual-mumbojumbo-celebration? No wonder why everyone is so happy about it!" Sokka laughed nervously at the girl, she wasn't getting the idea yet and it seemed it was going to be harder than he thought.

"Well, it isn't exactly like mumbojumbo… I mean a boring meeting and a speech about unity and stuff." Toph frowned; Sokka lowered his face at that last. "Perhaps the Air nomads were a bad example… well, Master Piandao forces me to study Fire Nation culture since I can't go to a school due to slavery status… on my research I found something interesting, it is a little different from marriage at my tribe but it follows the same rules, you see, when a man likes a woman, he asks her to marry him, that's what they call engagement." Toph nodded twice; there was a sharp 'look' on her blind eyes which made Sokka flinch. "…Uh… as I was saying… a man asks a woman for marriage by giving her a ring as proposal item, if the woman accepts, well… they get married and are happy together."

"Really? Is it that simple?" Sokka scratched the back of his head nervously but nodded in agreement. "It must be great to be engaged! It makes me want to be engaged as well! Have you ever been engaged?" Sokka's eyebrow began tickling; Toph couldn't see it but felt strange vibrations coming from Sokka's part. "That means you have?"

"Ah? Well… I … sort off…" Toph stood up and began jumping up and down happily since she was glad Sokka had experienced that class of joy. "Stop jumping! It's not like that! Marriage is different at my tribe…" Toph's joy dance was interrupted; Sokka took a deep breath once again and continued. "On my tribe, when you are the first born of your familiar line, you are forced to be engaged since the day of your birth, I never met my bride, Yue, since she lives at the other pole and it wasn't like 'turning around the corner at the next iceberg' as my sister used to say…"

"That means you never got married… how sad… I'm sorry…" Sokka clutched a little and then began laughing out loud, Toph was confused, she thought not getting married was something bad, but Sokka didn't seem to think the same. "What is so funny? Are you sick?"

"It's not that! On my tribe, all my friends were forced to spend quality time with their respective brides and never had time to play or train for war, I used to make fun of them because they were weaklings who never trained and would surely get killed in the war…" Sokka flinched after noticing that wasn't funny; Toph just raised an eyebrow at him. "I mean… I had more free time since I never had to spend time with my bride… although… most of the time my friends were happier than me… I always cared about war tactics and my training while they played happily with their brides… at first I thought it was unfair… to be born with a wedding promise instead of choosing who to marry on your own… but then I found out… I was only searching for excuses, since everyone had someone while I had no one…"

"…How sad…" Toph regretted ever asking, normally the vibrations she felt each time anyone talked about that subject were nice and full with joy, Sokka's ones were depressive ones, but then Toph smiled and took Sokka's hand. "I have an idea!" Sokka rose an eyebrow at her once again, she kept her usual smile. "Let's get engaged!" Sokka blinked twice and then jumped back scared. "That's it! Those are the vibrations I'm talking about! Full with joy and happiness… I don't remember fear at all… but it's ok! These are nice vibrations!"

"Are you nuts or what? You didn't understand a thing about what I was saying! It's not as simple as you think; if you want to get married you need to do it with someone you like! Not someone you have only seen twice in your life!" Toph giggled happily as she continued to feel those vibrations she enjoyed so much. "Quit laughing! I'm being serious!"

"So am I!" This time Sokka flinched since Toph suddenly took a fierce and determined posture. "You said it is something a boy and a girl do, and you say you have to get married to someone you like, so I don't 'feel' anything wrong about me wanting to be engaged with you." Sokka gulped, Toph then went back to her usual and soft hearted self. "You also said you had to give me something as a proposal item so we can get married! You want to get married, don't you?" Sokka gulped again and pulled his collar.

"I still think you haven't understood what being engaged means." Toph delivered one of her determined looks once again. Sokka began shaking with embarrassment and searched around his clothing for something to give to her as a proposal item. "Let me see, in my tribe we usually use necklaces, but I don't think I have one, I have a… shores list… this is garbage… what is this? Oh yeah, my breakfast… was I eating this? What can I give to you…?" Toph delivered a depressed 'stare' at Sokka, he delivered the stare back to her. "…I know… come with me, there is something at Master's home that you will surely like."

"…But… I can't go… Master Yu told me to stay at the garden; he will get mad if I'm not here when he comes back…" Sokka took Toph's hand and pressed it carefully; Toph just smiled and then hugged him playfully. "It will be ok if we come back before he does!"

"Yeah… whatever you say… but don't hug me like that! It's annoying!" Sokka ran while grabbing her hand around the green fields of the Fire Nation Palace and then toward Master Piandao's Mansion. "Master Piandao is at the meeting and Fat left to Master Piandao's retirement place to clean it before our weekend trip to the mountains, there he trains his sword mastering arts, one day I want to be a sword master as him and I was planning to build a sword for me, but I'm sure I can use that strange material for a better propose!"

* * *

"Your kind destroyed many of my villages! Drowned tons of innocent people! Buried my lands into lakes! I deserve complete control over your pathetic tribe!" Fire was sent flying around the place as Ozai's hard tempered self was having enough of Hakoda's wild and leader like side, Lao Bei Fong was as always bored at the familiar scene, and Avatar Aang was doing his best to keep both leaders at their respective chairs while saving his mustache from the fire. "I deserve total control and won't accept less!"

"Total control? If I do that you will sell my people as slaves and kill every waterbender left due to your fear of our element's superiority! I won't give you full control, someone must be nuts to accept such an offer!" Aang continued kicking Hakoda into his chair while pushing Ozai to his own with no luck. "I got rid of my army! And made the negotiations Lao Bei Fong suggested, and he promised no future attacks from your nation to my tribe! I also accepted to pay a tribute per month to seal our peace, but I won't allow you to give orders around my tribe!"

"Silence! I won't tolerate this kind of insult! Your kind began the war and you deserve to be punished for that last!" Avatar Aang finally had enough and unleashed the Avatar state, sending a whole river to push Ozai to his seat as well as hell burning flames to scare Hakoda into his own. "Don't mess with me old man!"

"Old man? Who are you calling old? Fine, I'm old, but I still have 400 years of life so you better respect me, it is clear negotiations can't keep going the way they have, so I will skip the debate part and ask for each of your peace offerings, I will listen to anything you want to say and then make the final decision." Ozai crossed his arms in annoyance as a spoiled kid does, Hakoda made a reverence at the Avatar and Lao Bei Fong played with his mustache bored by the meeting. "Hakoda, I will listen to your offering first." Ozai was about to complain when the arrow of Aang's bald head began shining and so he went back to his seat.

"Thank you, Avatar Aang, the Water Tribe already lost his military force as the last peace offering to the Earth Kingdom, and as everyone knows, my beloved wife was stripped of her royalty status, our last offering is in monetary form, our people will work, not as slaves, but as merchants for the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom until the reconstruction of the damaged villages, cities, and crops are over." Avatar Aang nodded in agreement and then looked at Ozai for him to ask for his peace offering.

"I'm only asking for what is fair, I accept your peace offering but I must say it isn't enough to pay for what your kind has done… but since I'm not allowed by the Avatar to set foot in your territory, I have a more peaceful way to seal peace." Avatar Aang smiled and asked for the Fire Lord to continue. "I'm asking for your daughter to marry my son for the unity of our nations." Hakoda stood up angrily; Lao just listened to everything with a new found interest.

"I won't accept it! You are planning to absorb my tribe slowly by giving control to your son! I won't allow that to happen!" Ozai stood up and Avatar Aang rolled his eyes annoyed, once again everything was running out of control, but not for long since Lao Bei Fong finally stood up.

"I must say I am disappointed of you, my dear friend." Ozai directed an angry stare at Lao, who kept his coolness. "I thought the unification of the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom was a more important subject than absorbing the Water Tribe using a wedding trick… oh well, I guess our cultures will never be one, I was expecting your son would be a nice husband to my daughter, but it seems you already made up your mind, I hope you are considering the military repercussions of breaking your promise, Lao."

"Wait… you lost your daughter in that terrible accident… that means… Lao Bei Fong! I ask for an explanation! No! I demand an explanation!" Lao smiled, Hakoda looked at both leaders of their cultures with curiosity, and Avatar Aang finally went back to his sit and relaxed a little.

"Years ago we signed a treaty in which I accepted to give you military support in exchange of your son to marry my new born daughter whenever she reached her marriage age." Ozai was enraged, the rumors about the Earth King's daughter dying were a fake, and he thought to take advantage of the situation by doing a politic move with a wedding between the Fire Nation and the Water Tribe, never expecting his deal with the Earth Kingdom wasn't over. "I wonder if it was really an accident or a way for you to escape from your promise."

"Don't accuse me falsely, Lao! I had nothing to do with your daughter's accident and you know it!" Fire began forming around Ozai, he was already losing it, he always enjoyed manipulating others, not being the one manipulated.

"Then, Avatar Aang, I have an offering that will surely satisfy everyone in this room, I will allow Fire Lord Ozai to receive my part of the peace offering from the Water Tribe, which means he will earn full control of this treaty, all I'm asking for in return is… for Prince Zuko to marry my only daughter… Toph Bei Fong, and seal the unification of the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation." Avatar Aang nodded in agreement, Hakoda made a reverence accepting the terms and conditions while Ozai could do nothing but accept. It all happened so fast, Ozai's original plan to take over the Water Tribe ended in his possible loss of his own nation just because of a wedding proposal from the supposed allied Kingdom.

* * *

"Here we are! Master Piandao's Mansion!" Sokka searched for a key inside of his gloved hand and then opened the door, allowing Toph inside. "Please don't touch anything; Master Piandao will get mad if he knows I allowed someone inside of his mansion." He grabbed Toph's hand after placing the key inside of his glove once again and walked her toward the huge yard of the palace.

"This place is huge! And it seems to be peaceful as well, is there a waterfall nearby?" Sokka nodded in agreement, Toph just smiled as a reply. "So, you live here…? I'm so glad Master Piandao is such a nice person, I would feel terrible if I knew he treated you bad."

"Well he is hard sometimes, especially before breakfast, but he is a nice person, although he does make me work a lot all the time." Toph said nothing, she just 'stared' at Sokka's direction after he left her hand and searched for something inside of what she thought was some kind of storage room. "He is always making me clean his weapons, order his armors, buy supplies, wash his socks, which is my less favorite shore, and then he forces me to study for two long hours at his personal library, I asked him to allow me to help him craft some new swords but he refused."

Toph then heard something like metal hitting the ground and Sokka yelling like crazy around the storage room, and then some swearing that wasn't appropriate for Sokka's age but also it was something she didn't understand. "What does that means?" Sokka said nothing, and after a while, came out of the storage room holding a strange object, it was some kind of black colored metal bar, or something like that. "What is this? It feels cold… it feels to be made of earth but… just what in the world is it?"

"You said you wanted something as a proposal item, this is my first attempt to create a sword, it didn't turn out to be that good… and it doesn't look like a sword at all… but that's not the point, it is also part of a weird material Master Piandao found during his travels, he calls it space earth." Toph raised an eyebrow and took it in her hands.

"It is heavy… you said it is made of earth?" Sokka nodded in agreement. "Then maybe I can bend it!" Sokka scratched the back of his head, Toph just forced her earthbending abilities to help her bend the strange space earth in her hands, her first try wasn't that promising since she made a random and small rock fly away and probably broke the neighbor's wooden made window. But she kept trying, her second try just broke the bar in half which scared Sokka since it was a strong material, in her third try she managed to give the object some kind of form. "I'm not good at this yet! Master Yu is so stubborn; he refuses to teach me real earthbending!"

"Still, I didn't know earthbenders could bend metal, how did you do that?" Toph moved her shoulders up and down, Sokka stared at her weirdly. "You are such a weirdo."

"You said it was earth, so I searched for earth inside of this thing and bended it, but I don't think I did such a good job, it was hard to bend that thing." Sokka smiled to himself and took both semi-bended objects, placing one on Toph's arm and one at his. "What are you doing?"

"One for you, one for me, this thing kind of looks like an arm band or a bracelet, maybe one day you will be able to give it a better form, but for now, it is the best proposal item of them all!" Sokka smiled, Toph smiled as well. "So then it is official, we are engaged, but be sure of one thing, you will have to wait until you are 16 to be able to get married."

"So long? You are so cruel! I want to get married now!" Sokka laughed at the girl who began giggling as well and rubbing her semi-earthbended bracelet, a permanent smile drawn on both of their faces. "Sokka… thank you." Sokka said nothing, he just smiled, he smiled as he had never done in his whole life, finally enjoying the feeling of having someone by his side.


	5. Oath of Loyalty

**Slavery Mark: Book One – Fire.**

**Chapter Five: Oath of Loyalty.**

* * *

Negotiations were now over, an uneasy peace was signed, and what was supposed to be a celebration about the Fire Nation finally conquering the Water Tribe, was now a fearful reunion. Ozai was blind to any explanation, he had already banished half of his servants and fired most of his royal guards, now, the only thing that was left was a small group of war advisors, all fearing for their royal positions, and a single slave serving them all. "More wine!"Ozai yelled.

Kaya was that lone slave, she took the wine bottle from the table and walked over the Fire Lord, filling his cup with the red liquid, Ozai drank it empty and demanded for more, Kaya nodded, and served her master once again.

Between the members of the group of war advisors was Iroh, Ozai's brother and General of the land militia, admiral Zhao, head of the sea invasion forces, Minister Qin, technologist and inventor of the Fire Nation, Jeong Jeong, powerful firebending Master and trainer of the bending squadron, and 'The Warden' a cruel man whose real name is a secret in order to keep his many enemies away from his family and friends. Only one member was left to arrive for the meeting to begin, but the bold war advisor was late, and Ozai's patience was running out.

The Fire Lord was finally about to begin when the doors of the war chamber were knocked. Without being asked to act, Kaya walked toward the door and opened it slowly revealing Master Piandao, he made a reverence and walked inside of the room. "My Lord, I apologize for my delay, I had some important matters at hand."

"Important matters?" Ozai finally stood up with his cup in hand; the wine was slowly evaporating by his firebending running out of control. "Piandao! I should banish you for your insolence! These are difficult times for our nation and you dare telling me you had some 'important matters' at hand?" Master Piandao made a reverence once again excusing himself for his delay, and then sat down next to Iroh. "Such an incompetent group of war advisors you all came out to be, don't you old hags worry about the fate of our nation?"

"Brother, please… we are all tired of this endless war, now that peace is already signed, there is no reason for this meeting to be celebrated, now then, why don't we all share a nice cup of tea and relax." Piandao and Jeong Jeong both nodded in agreement, but Ozai had different plans for this meeting; he launched a wave of fire across the table and burned the cup of tea on Iroh's hands. "Brother, that was an expensive piece of art, just what in the world is bothering you?"

"What is bothering me? My nation is slowly heading to its imminent doom! And you just care about your tea?" No one in the room was aware of the situation; the cup of wine the Fire Lord was carrying finally slipped from his hands and fall to the floor, Kaya never waited for her orders to be given, she walked toward the spilled wine and began cleaning, Ozai was blinded by his anger, he formed a fire sphere on his hands and was about to launch it at Kaya when Piandao stood up.

"With all respect, my Lord, we haven't been informed about the results of the peace treaty, if we are to advise you for the good of our nation we most know all the details." Kaya moved away after noticing the fire sphere at the Fire Lord's hands, she was scared, after all, she was nothing more than a slave in the lands of fire, fortunately, Piandao's words managed to bring some sense into Ozai, and he adsorbed the sphere once again. "As a member of the six personal war advisors of our lord, I demand this meeting to relay only on the opinion of those higher ranked advisors."

"Petition granted." Spoke Ozai while finally returning to his chair. "Any low rated advisor is ordered to leave the room, which includes you, my slave, and leave now before I banish you." Kaya made a reverence to her lord and walked away as well as the many war advisors who were ordered to leave, but before she left, she made a second reverence for Piandao as thanks for his intervention. "Now, gentlemen, let's get into business, as you may now know, the negotiations didn't end as was expected, while it is true the Water Tribe is forced to pay us tributes until our nation is reconstructed, our nation was forced to accept an offer from the Earth Kingdom… Lao Bei Fong demanded my son as groom for his daughter."

"But that's impossible! Lao Bei Fong lost his daughter in that 'accident' at the mines, we planned it all along. With the daughter of the Bei Fong's gone, our nation would take full control over the Water Tribe with the promise of marriage between Prince Zuko and Princess Katara of the Water Tribe!" Minister Qin pointed out the obvious, which angered Fire Lord Ozai, the old minister took a sit and remained in silence.

"It appears our little plan to get rid of the daughter of the Bei Fong's didn't turn out as expected… most important is the fact of Lao Bei Fong keeping his daughter's survival a secret, someone must have advised him to do it… our little insider spoke out… Long Feng has betrayed us… admiral Zhao, you were the one in charge of this operation, you have failed me! Thanks to you, my nation will be absorbed by the Earth Kingdom when my son weds this useless blind girl, everything we planned will be over!" Fire was send flying across the room, everyone backed off minus admiral Zhao who had already planned his reply.

"I apologize my lord, but I believe this little inconvenient can be turned into our advantage." Ozai demanded for admiral Zhao to explain himself, the admiral stood up and walked around the table while explaining his point. "As we all know, Lao Bei Fong is a soft hearted ruler, and ever since his wife passed away in a… 'Unfortunate' accident… his daughter was… or is… the only successor to the throne… our original plan to get rid of her to prevent our prince to marry the princess failed miserably… but… we still can take advantage of this situation… if we… get rid of the King…"

"What nonsense are you saying? I didn't agree with the idea of murdering an innocent girl to save our nation because I thought it was cruel and coward, but this is different, murdering the Earth King is madness, brother! You can't agree with this! Just think about it carefully, the Earth Kingdom owns the most powerful army in the history of the four nations! If we murder the king, war will once again erupt, and this is a war we can't win, we don't have enough army founds to prepare for a war!" Zhao laughed at Iroh who just glared at him with rage.

"That's where you are mistaken, we do have the war founds, if we use the tributes from the Water Tribe to build an army instead of reconstructing our nation, we can launch an attack to the Earth Kingdom, one they never expected." Ozai nodded, but wasn't at all convinced by Zhao's plan. "Also, if we play our cards correctly, we won't go to war, what we need is to 'silence' the king, slowly enough to make it look like a natural dead… once the king is out of the picture, we have a young and sad little girl, with no idea of how to rule a nation, then Prince Zuko enters the picture, he weds the blind girl, and rules her Kingdom in her place, allowing us to have full control over the Earth Kingdom, and with the Water Tribe paying tributes to our nation, and we using the gold to create a powerful army, we just have to join forces with the Earth Kingdom and use its advanced army to break war to the Water Tribe… after all, their army were sold as slaves, they don't have the time to build a new army."

"You are sick, Zhao! The Earth Kingdom is a valuable ally to our nation, brother, don't commit this mistake twice, first you tried to eliminate the daughter of the Earth King, I didn't approve it then and I don't approve it now… but that's not the point, going after the king is… madness!" Ozai remained in silence, analyzing everything that was told to him, Iroh was now sweating cold, he knew his brother well, and knew war was in his blood, after all, that was the reason of why he was chosen by his father as Fire Lord instead of him. "Brother, you can't actually believe war is the answer to our problem, we had been in war with the Water Tribe for many centuries now, and we finally achieved peace, will you break such an opportunity of change just because of a minor loss of power?"

"…We will vote to find it out…" Iroh lowered his face, history was once again repeating itself, the first time been the murdering of the daughter of the Bei Fong's, he lost that time, and he knew the reason. "Those who wish to tie our Nation to the Earth Kingdom, stand up." Iroh was the first one to stand up, followed by Piandao and Jeong Jeong. "Those in favor of war and the conquering of the Earth Kingdom… stand up…" As expected, Zhao stood up, followed by Qin and the Warden… for a few minutes nothing happened, but then, as it happened the last time, Ozai stood up. "Then, it is settled, we will conquer the Earth Kingdom, Lao Bei Fong will regret the day he made a fool of me, and I'm going to enjoy it… Admiral Zhao… I will trust you one last time… fail me… and your punishment will be worse than dead."

All the war advisors made a reverence toward Ozai and then left the room, closing the doors behind and allowing the Fire Lord to have some privacy, 3 of the war advisors walked by the corridors of the palace in silence, until they made sure no one was near. "Such a terrible decision taken by our Fire Lord I must say."

"Piandao! This place isn't safe yet, in case you haven't noticed, there is someone listening to everything we say." Iroh pointed at a nearby window, but Piandao seemed to be aware of the circumstances and smiled. "Piandao, I don't believe you have a plan… do you?"

"As a matter of fact, my old friend… I have… you may come out, Kaya, I know you overheard our conversation with the Fire Lord." Iroh and Jeong Jeong were both surprised after hearing the name of the slave Piandao just mentioned, the young woman came out from her hiding spot and made a reverence but said nothing. "My fellow brothers of the Order of the White Lotus, it is an honor for me to present you, the queen of the Water Tribe."

"The… the 'White Empress of the South'? Such a powerful woman… sold as a slave? What nonsense is this?" Jeong Jeong kneeled at the woman in front of him, Kaya didn't know how to react, she just looked around the place making sure no one had seen what had just happened. "I knew I had seen your face before, that terrible day my army was defeated by your tribe, you stood defiant to our forces, even after you were outnumbered, and you brought victory to your tribe."

Iroh kneeled as well after discovering who the woman was. "So that's why Piandao kneeled for you… I can't believe myself; I bought you as a slave for my nephew, if I had known you were such an important person… my queen… I beg your forgiveness." Kaya wanted to run away, but Piandao took her hand and kneeled as his two friends.

"My Queen, I maintained your identity a secret, but these are hard times, and we need you to lead us to times of peace." Kaya was unable to understand it, she was supposed to be a former queen of the Water Tribe, now a slave in enemy territory, and just now, 3 of Ozai's war advisors were doing a reverence at her. "My queen, your time as a member of royalty might now be over, but your fight isn't over yet, we of the Order of the White Lotus fight for the welfare of the four nations, even if it means fighting against our own… we kindly ask you to help us since in your blood relies the key for peace…as it relies in the blood of your son…"

* * *

"Sokka!" Toph's young and tiny body was launched toward the Water Tribe kid, he was embarrassed by that last and tried to push the blind girl away from him with no luck. Master Yu, who already had the honor of meeting the kid Toph always talked about, was annoyed by the situation, once again the girl was being sweet and nice instead of strong and sarcastic, but somehow, it didn't matter anymore. "I'm going to miss you, make sure to visit me sometime; there are many things I still want to know."

"Unfortunately, I can't, my situation isn't exactly that simple to deal with… I'm stuck on the Fire Nation." Toph 'stared' at him annoyed; Sokka couldn't help but feel guilty by that last. "Will it be ok if I promise to see you again?" The young girl smiled, Sokka was disturbed by that last, Toph switched between angry and happy so fast that Sokka couldn't tell which one was the real Toph. "I'm sorry I can't visit you at the Earth Kingdom, my place is here at Prince Zuko's side."

"Hey, don't get me involved in the middle of your relationship problems." Zuko just recently met Toph by petition of the Avatar who was also there to see the girl leave to her kingdom, the two of them didn't exactly get along, but they could barely tolerate each other's. "I think I will see you soon… my princess…" Zuko forced himself to say that last, Toph just 'faced' away annoyed. "Have a nice trip."

"Thanks! I will, I don't need your best wishes to have a nice trip." Sokka could feel the tension in the air, Zuko didn't like Toph since she was rude and insolent toward him, and the girl disliked Zuko because he was a good friend of Sokka, and Sokka was supposed to be her 'dearest friend'. "If you bully Sokka because of his status… I won't forgive you."

"I won't! Sokka is my best friend! I would never bully him!" Toph stuck her tongue out at the Fire Nation Prince, Zuko stuck his own out at the Earth Kingdom Princess, and Sokka just wished the earth would swallow him and end this disturbing situation for good. "Just leave already!"

"That's the plan all along dummy!" Zuko glared at the girl with anger, Toph just hugged Sokka hard like claiming him to be of her propriety. "Weakling Prince!"

"Spoiled little girl!" Sokka could feel the heat coming out of Zuko's body and the small waves of shaking earth forming below his feet and so he began to worry about his current situation, fortunately, as the great intermediary Avatar Aang is, he rubbed both of their heads carefully, and won their attention.

"Now there, you two have many things in common, both will one day be rulers of your nations, both are benders and both are friends of Sokka, instead of wanting to hurt each other's, you should be friends." Toph stuck her tongue out at the Prince once again; Zuko stuck his own out as reply. "Well, you can't say I didn't try, another thing you both share in common is how stubborn you both are… it is time for me to leave, I must say it was a pleasure to see you again, Master Yu, I will leave this girl down your care."

"It was my pleasure my old friend, I wish the best for you and the Air Nomads." Avatar Aang nodded and jumped high into the sky, and then he landed a few miles away from the group and on top of his old and flurry flying bison. The avatar waved his hand at Yu and the old master waved back. "Have a nice trip my old friend!"

And with a 'Yip Yip' Avatar Aang was gone, the 3 kids at the docks stared at Master Yu, or at least Zuko and Sokka did since Toph was blind. "Master Yu… did you know Avatar Aang from before?" Master Yu smiled softly and rubbed Toph's head, the girl giggled since her master didn't show affection toward her that often.

"Of course I knew him… it was me the one teaching him earthbending." Zuko's and Sokka's jaws dropped, Toph giggled happily after hearing that last, she was proud of herself for being Master Yu's earthbending student. "King Bumi refused to train him, and I was the second in the line to teach him… around those days I was a young earthbending Master of 16 years and King Bumi's pupil, I must say teaching earthbending to the Avatar was something I was proud of… although, between the 3 of you and me, it felt weird to teach earthbending to someone way older than me… it was scary." The 3 kids laughed, Toph being the happiest of them all. "It is time to go now Toph; we have a lot of training to do if we want you to be the greatest earthbender in history."

Toph's smile faded as Master Yu offered his hand to her; the young girl just buried her face at Sokka's chest, hugging him even harder. "But I still want to play with Sokka… do we have to go this soon?" Master Yu rolled his eyes at the girl. "Hung Gar, earthbending, and sarcasm can wait; I want to play for a while longer."

"Toph… what did I tell you about being sweet and cheerful all the time? Do you really want to become a great earthbender with that attitude of yours?" Toph could feel her eyes filling themselves with tears, but she refused to cry, instead, she let go off of Sokka. "That's better, now, let's go, it is a long trip toward the Earth Kingdomn and you get sea sick." Toph nodded, but before leaving, she pulled Sokka's collar and forced him to her height, then she kissed his cheek softly, stealing a blush from the kid who backed off scared. The girl giggled happily and then ran inside of the ship; Master Yu rolled his eyes once again, Sokka just stayed there with his jaw dropped and his face flushed. "This girl is going to give me a heart attack and grey hair… your name is… Sokka… am I right?" The boy nodded after being brought back to his senses. "I know you care for Toph in a special way… but you must be careful and keep your distance from her… she might be a little girl with a pure heart and no worries… but that will change soon, and it won't be because of me… her destiny is to become a queen… and a queen can't befriend a Water Tribe slave." Sokka and Zuko were both surprised about Master Yu's knowledge of Sokka's real status, the old master just made a reverence and left.

"So-Sokka… he knows the truth about your… slavery mark…" Sokka nodded, although he was as confused as Zuko was. "Don't you think… your girlfriend told him about your slavery status?" Sokka moved his head in negation, but then he flinched, he turned around and faced Zuko.

"She is not my girlfriend!" Zuko raised an eyebrow at him; Sokka just crossed his arms annoyed. "I know you don't like her but that doesn't mean you have to start a rumor about her." Zuko grinned, Sokka flinched at that last.

"You sure you aren't his boyfriend? Because unless I'm going blind, I think I saw her kissing you." Sokka felt a chill running through his spine; Zuko laughed at him and then ran away, Sokka ran after him angered by the prince's attitude. "I knew it! You like the princess!"

"Shut up Zuko! I don't! We are just friends!" Zuko kept running away with a permanent grin on his face, Sokka chased him, although instead of being mad at the prince, he was smiling, that was the final proof Zuko needed to know about Sokka's feelings, the boy didn't actually smile to anyone and was cold and rude almost all the time, but not now, they reached the palace gasping for air and covered by sweat, the persecution was over, but the discussion wasn't. "Zuko, I told you she is not my girlfriend, you know I'm a slave, and she is a princess, also, I have only seen her twice in my life."

"Perhaps you are right, there is no way a princess can befriend a peasant." Sokka crossed his arms annoyed at the prince who just smiled at the boy. "Unless you are knighted." Sokka scratched the back of his head confused, Zuko just continued. "It was Azula's idea, you know my sis has a crush on you, like it or not she is on our side… for now…"

"I rather be treated as a slave than trusting her… no offence." Zuko moved his head in negation; Sokka just took a deep breath and followed Zuko inside of the castle and into the library where Azula was usually forced by her two babysitters, Lo and Li, to study. They entered the huge room in silence, disturbing Azula during her studies was a bad idea, especially since her studies consisted in complaining about how Lo and Li forced her to study history and calculus. "There she is… are you sure it is a smart idea… your sister is already scary enough, bothering her during her studies is suicide."

"You are her crush, you go talk to her." Sokka refused, Zuko insisted, both kids began arguing once again, Azula was aware of their presence, but decided to ignore them, paying more attention to her studies than anything, unfortunately, what began as whispers grew into yelling, and Azula's patience died down.

"That's enough!" Azula burned her own chair in anger, as well as the table and many of the books she was reading, Zuko and Sokka both flinched. "You little idiots have just disturbed my studies! I was already concentrating! Do you have the minor idea of how hard it is to concentrate when you are forced to study ancient culture by a pathetic pair of old hags who never had a social life?" Azula's anger died down, she gasped for air and walked away annoyed, taking a sit at a new chair and slamming her forehead hard with the table. "What do you nitwits want? I'm not in the mood of teasing you right now."

"A-Az-Azula, well, it is funny you ask, you know since it is a madness to disturb your studies and all, the truth is, well…" Azula slammed her fist hard at the table, Zuko backed off and so did Sokka. "You are my bodyguard, you tell her!"

"Sorry, but a peasant is not allowed to speak to a princess, I leave this one to you." Azula's eyes were already shining with anger. Sokka gulped hard, but was brave enough, or probably stupid enough, to try to calm her down. "My… my Princess, I beg your forgiveness, the reason I'm here is to… well…" Azula crossed her arms annoyed, Sokka flinched at that last but then he kneeled, surprising both Azula and Zuko. "Princess Azula, I wish to learn how to become a knight of the Fire Nation." Azula's flames of fury died down, replaced by an evil grin, Sokka gulped at that grin.

"Is that so?" Sweat covered Sokka's face as the princess of the Fire Nation placed her hand in front of Sokka to kiss. "I will tell you how to become a knight, but first, you will have to act like one." Sokka gulped and then kissed Azula's hand; the girl blushed a little but then smiled evilly. "So, Piandao's son really wants to follow his father's footsteps. Piandao, was the last knight ever knighted in the whole Fire Nation history, I know it, I read it myself… he was a peasant boy who wished to become a great warrior, his prowess gave fruits when my father acceded to knight him around 20 years ago… just how old is my dad anyway…? That's not important; you really want to become a knight, Piandao's son?"

"Well… I think so… I always wanted to be the best warrior of my tri… I mean, familiar line! Even greater than my father, Ha… Ah! Piandao!" Zuko slammed his forehead hard; Azula just gave the young warrior an odd look. "I apologize, my princess… it's just… I… well… am intimidated by… your… presence… I mean beauty!" Zuko's jaw dropped, Sokka could barely believe he just called Azula beautiful, the princess just played with her hair nervously.

"Oh! Well, thank you… I mean, I already knew I was beautiful, but, thanks for reminding it to me." Sokka rolled his eyes; Azula just took a royal posture. "Becoming a knight is no easy task; you will have to prove yourself worthy of the knight title, you will face many hardships and may as well fail… most likely you will fail… but anyway, the first step of your knighting pursuit is your oath of loyalty for your prince."

"Oath?" Azula nodded, Sokka and Zuko both blinked twice. "You mean I need to vow loyalty to Prince Zuko?" Azula nodded and smiled softly. "Why do I believe that's not all I have to do?" Azula giggled, both Zuko and Sokka flinched.

"Are you ready guys? We are about to have a knighting ceremony, but first, we need the proper clothing, let's go Zuzu!" Azula grabbed Zuko's hand and pulled him out of the library. "Piandao's son, we will be waiting for you at the ceremonial hall of the palace in a couple of hours, don't be late!" And with that said, Azula left with Zuko, leaving Sokka alone.

"Oath of loyalty? Sort of sounds like a fairy tale, how do I know Azula is not lying anyway?" Sokka crossed his arms, and by doing it so, he touched with his fingers the weird bracelet resting on his arm, he smiled softly after looking at it. "Whatever, I won't be able to keep my promise to that weird girl if I don't earn a royalty status, and knighting is the only way a peasant like me can earn that status… that girl better be glad of my efforts, I don't even know why am I doing this, I feel like a moron, things weren't this difficult at the South Pole."

* * *

"My queen, it was a tragedy what happened to your homeland, I am ashamed of my people's behavior." Piandao walked Kaya toward a secret room at the palace, followed by Jeong Jeong and Iroh, who made sure no one had seen their secret meeting room, once inside, they locked the door behind and kindly asked Kaya to sit at the comfortable living room, Piandao sat after her and so did Jeong Jeong, Iroh in the other hand went toward a small kitchen and prepared some hot tea for everyone in the room.

"Please… Master Piandao, I beg your forgiveness but… I'm just a slave; I gave up my royalty status in order to save my tribe from destruction… I am no warrior, I am no queen… I'm just a slave trying to survive." Kaya began coughing hard, which won the attention of Iroh and Jeong Jeong, Piandao was already aware of Kaya's health and wasn't at all surprised. "Forgive me, I can't keep fighting."

"My queen, you overheard that meeting we had with our Fire Lord, your tribe is still in great danger and will only contribute to its imminent doom, it doesn't have to end like that, and all we are asking is for you to help us fight against our own nation." Kaya moved her head in negation; Jeong Jeong and Iroh exchanged looks and then stared at Piandao. "Your son may be the key to restore balance."

Kaya was surprised by that last; she stared at Piandao with teary eyes and moved her head in negation a second time. "Sokka? No, I can't allow that to happen, my tribe was the responsible of this war, and all I want now is for it to end, my son doesn't have to pay for my sins or follow my example, I just want him to live, no matter how, I'm just asking for his life."

"But my queen, your son now is nothing more than a slave, my nephew is taking well care of him, but it is only matter of time before he is discovered, and even if he isn't, do you actually want your son to live as nothing more than just a slave, forced to work until the flame of his life is consumed?" Kaya covered her ears, refusing to listen anymore.

"It's of no use; the 'White Empress of the South' can't help us now, no matter what we do, war will surely start once again, our only hope to save the Water Tribe, our nation, and the whole world from this madness relays on her son, we must find him and train him, only he can lead his tribe to victory." Piandao and Iroh both nodded at Jeong Jeong, Kaya just stood up with teary eyes, being defiant at the 3 warriors.

"You can't seriously think you can ask my son to take over his tribe! We have no army, my people were sold as slaves, and we signed peace! What else do I have to do to save my children from this war?" Piandao hugged Kaya who sobbed at his tunic, the once strong and fearless woman was now a weak slave with no hopes or dreams, Piandao knew it, but wasn't ready to give up his hopes on the once brave queen.

"From today and on… I will take Sokka as my pupil, I will teach him the arts of war, and train him to be a fearless warrior, one that can lead his tribe toward times of peace… all I'm asking for you, my queen, is to be there for him, you don't have to fight anymore, or keep worrying about the war… we both know you won't live long to find out the result…" Kaya nodded and cried once again, she hugged Piandao searching for comfort; the old master hugged her back, feeling pity for the fate of this brave woman, and for the fate of Sokka. "I promise… you and your son will be free once again."

* * *

After a long and sort of tiring pursuit around the corridors of the Fire Nation palace, Sokka was finally able to arrive at the ceremony hall as he was instructed by Azula, what the young princess didn't know was Sokka wasn't allowed inside of the palace unless Prince Zuko was by his side, and due to that minor inconvenient, his arrival to the hall was delayed and wasn't at all easy.

By now, many guards were looking for him; fortunately, the young warrior was trained in the arts of war, and he had already memorized the many corridors around the castle, which made his escape from the guards a lot easier. He gasped for air with his back pressed against the metal doors of the ceremony hall, his face was covered with sweat, and his mouth was dry, but he was able to arrive at the hall, where Zuko and Azula were waiting for his arrival.

"Piandao's son, I'm glad you could make it to the ceremonial hall in one piece, now, if you don't mind, let's begin with your oath announcement ceremony." Azula and Zuko were both resting themselves at the thrones at the other side of the room; both were wearing ceremonial tunics of deep red and black colors, giving them both an aura of royalty. "I invited some friends of mine to this knighting ceremony, I hope you don't mind, and even if you do mind, I don't care."

Mai and Ty Lee were also in the room, both of them wearing red cloaks, Sokka flinched a little as he saw both girls walking their way toward him. "Peasant boy, don't get any wrong ideas about what I am about to do, if you do I promise you will suffer."

"You can have wrong ideas about my actions if you want to, mostly because I have been waiting to do this for quite a while now!" Sokka flinched once again and began wondering where the real danger was, inside the ceremony hall with all those psycho girls, or outside with the many guards searching for him… at first and second thoughts, he agreed the guards were a better option. "I will take his pants off!"

"Wait! What?" Ty Lee and Mai both attacked Sokka, stripping him of his clothes, at the other side of the room Azula smirked evilly as she saw Sokka with only his red underwear and glove on. "What is the meaning of all this? Zuko!"

"Ju-just relax, Sokka, it is a present from Azula… just get dressed… please…" Sokka wanted to scratch the back of his head, but he knew doing it would allow Ty Lee to strip him from his remaining clothing and refused to do it. "You can't have a knighting ceremony with peasant clothes… so Azula thought giving you some of mine would make you look… wealthier…"

After that last was said, Ty Lee took out some clothes and smiled evilly at Sokka. "Want your new clothes? Then say you love me!" Sokka looked away annoyed, Mai rolled her eyes and walked away, Zuko slammed his forehead hard and Azula glared at Ty Lee angered.

"Ty Lee! Quit flirting with peasant boys!" Ty Lee nodded and jumped her way happily to where Mai was, allowing Sokka to get dressed in his new clothes, which were a traditional outfit only wore by those members of high royalty status, which made Sokka feel uncomfortable by wearing them. "So then, Piandao's son, let's begin with the ceremony, shall we?" Sokka nodded, Azula and Zuko both stood up and pointed their fingers toward some candles around the room, blasting them with their firebending and lighting them on, allowing the room to be surrounded by the gentle light of each candle around the room. "Prince Zuko, mind making the honoring?"

Zuko cleared his throat and so Ty Lee and Mai kneeled, Sokka was a little slow to understand he should kneel as well but he did after Zuko cleared his throat for the second time. "The ceremony shall now begin… slaying a dragon, leading an army to victory, defending our homeland with honor, these and many other actions define a knight, but each…" Zuko cut his speech to look below his sleeve, searching for the rest of the speech. Azula slapped her own forehead hard at her brother's ignorance. "…Knight, should first vow loyalty to those he swears to serve, I, prince Zuko, heir to the throne of the Fire Nation, demand for your oath of loyalty to be announced, as your initiation in the long road to become a knight."

Sokka was still unable to understand what was going on, until Zuko cleared his throat for the third time. Sokka stood up, he carefully walked toward the thrones at the other side of the room, and stared at both Zuko and Azula, a chilling feeling ran down his spine, as if this little game suddenly seemed to be a real ceremony and he was a peasant vowing for his king and queen. "Prince Zuko, future heir of the throne of your nation, I vow my loyalty to you… my life no longer belongs to me, it belongs to my nation, it belongs to its heir, it belongs to my prince… Princess Azula, I swear my loyalty to you as well, since it is my wish to see this nation achieve peace, with my prince and princess leading it to times of peace…"

Azula smiled to herself, Zuko wasn't at all happy to know Sokka was also vowing loyalty to Azula, but understood the reason behind his promise to the princess, to take his oath of loyalty seriously, and become a knight, Sokka was asking for Azula's approval. Zuko stood up from his throne and stared at his sister, waiting for her to do the same, for a while the princess remained in silence, but she finally stood up, Zuko smiled. "I, Azula, princess of the Fire Nation accept your oath." Azula placed her hand in front of Sokka; he kneeled and kissed it, sealing his promise to the princess.

"I, Prince Zuko, future owner of the throne of my nation, accept your oath of loyalty, and look forward to the day of your real knighting ceremony." Zuko placed his hand on top of Sokka's head. "From this moment and on, I vow to you too, Sokka." Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee were surprised by that last, the ceremony was supposed to be over by now, but Zuko still had something to say. "As your Prince, I accept your oath, but as your friend, I seal this ceremony, honoring you as my brother." For a long while, everything was silence, the ceremony was finally over, and Sokka was now more than just a peasant, he was now a close friend to the royal family.

"Well, there is no reason for staying here anymore, the ceremony is over, Mai, Ty Lee, blow those candles, Zuzu, let's return these outfits before father finds out we had a ceremony without his royal approval." Zuko nodded and helped Sokka up, then he made a reverence to his friend, Sokka mimicked his reverence. "Sokka! The ceremony is over! Help us clean this place before someone arrives."

"…Azula… you called me by my name…?" Azula blushed and kept cleaning the room, Sokka smiled at the princess a little, but then stared at Zuko confused, Azula was normally a pain, she was always bullying Zuko or treating Sokka as a commoner, but not anymore.

"It's ok, Sokka, since you vowed loyalty to us you are now a close friend of the royal family, you might still be a peasant, but now you are part of our family… which reminds me, I have something for you." Zuko searched around his tunic for one royal artifact. A silver made replica of the gold made headpiece worn only by the immediate royal heirs of the Fire Nation. "This was my uncle's idea… long time ago, my ancestor, Zozin, gave his crown to Avatar Roku as a present, sealing their friendship… I don't have a crown of my own since my crowning ceremony won't take place until I am 16, but I wanted you to have this… I didn't know when to give it to you, until Azula came out with the knighting ceremony idea."

"I don't know what to say… I don't think I deserve all this… I mean… I keep a lot of secrets to myself… many dark ones that may be dangerous if discovered… I don't actually think this is right…" Zuko smiled, so did Azula and Ty Lee, Mai rolled her eyes but couldn't help her smile to appear as well. "Sorry Zuko… but I can't…"

"Don't be such a crybaby! We don't care if you are a peasant anymore, just accept the stupid gift!" Azula blushed even harder after saying that last, Sokka sort of enjoyed the idea but he still knew it was dangerous. "Just take it already… is it so hard to believe I did a good action?"

"Ow! Azula is so cute when she is embarrassed!" Ty Lee jumped up and down happily, making fun of her friend who bit her lips hard to prevent her firebending from burning Ty Lee to ashes. "Just take it, Sokka, we are your friends now and wish you the best, besides, that silver crown will allow you to move freely around the castle, we can see each other's more often!"

"And I'm sure that is something Azula is going to enjoy a lot." Azula crossed her arms annoyed, Sokka just blinked twice at Mai who dared to speak to him. "I still don't like you, there is something odd in you that I can't trust, but if Azula says you are good enough to be a friend of the royal family, then I will accept it, not that I have to like it, for me, you are still a peasant boy."

Sokka stared at Mai angrily, the girl just looked away to hide her smile from Sokka. "Come on, Sokka, just accept our gift." Sokka nodded and made a reverence; Zuko then took Sokka's usual headband off and placed the silver crown on its place. "Welcome to the royal family, Sokka."

"Well, you aren't exactly from the family, at least not yet." Sokka and Zuko both exchanged looks, Azula just turned around hiding her blush. "If you really want to be part of the family… then you must figure out a way… just don't get me involved… understood?" Sokka and Zuko both flinched but nodded. "Ve-very well… Ty Lee, Mai… we are leaving… Zuzu, don't play around with your ceremonial clothes that much, and Sokka… become a real royalty member fast… that's all." And with that last said, Azula ran her way out of the room, followed by Ty Lee and Mai.

"Forgive my sister; she is such a creep, sometimes I think she is taking her liking you way too seriously." This time Sokka didn't flinch, actually, he was smiling. "So-Sokka? Don't tell me you are falling for my sister… don't take seriously the 'being part of the family' part."

"Actually, Zuko, there is no way I will ever like your sister that way, since there is already a girl I vowed for." Zuko cleaned the sweat away from his face after hearing that last and smiled. "She may be too young to understand what she made me promise to her… but I will make sure she doesn't forget about her promise, I slowly went from slave to peasant and from peasant to royal family friend… now I have to work hard to become your bodyguard and later on a knight for the Fire Nation… only then I will be able to keep that promise I made to her… I just hope she can wait for me that long."

* * *

Back at the Earth Kingdom, after a long and tiring trip, the royal ship hit land, the darkness of the night was refreshing to the many souls enjoying it and walking through the docks of the Full Moon Bay, a not long ago discovered lake near the Serpent's pass and south of Ba Sing Se. But the night wasn't that enjoyable for a certain government official who waited at the docks impatiently for his princess to disembark, once he saw his princess walking down the wooden made bridge connecting the ship to the disembarking area, Long Feng kneeled. "Lady Bei Fong, it is my pleasure to see you arrived safely to our kingdom, allow me to walk you back to Ba Sing Se safely."

Toph said nothing, she just moved dizzily around the wooden made bridge and seemed to be about to fall from it, Long Feng noticed and was about to run to her aid when a caring hand helped Toph to win stability. "Long Feng, your services aren't needed, it is me the one in charge of our princess's safety, now, if you excuse me, Toph is tired and seasick, I will take her back to the castle and take over her needs." Master Yu carried Toph and walked her down and toward a royal carriage waiting to drive the princess back to the castle.

Long Feng was angered by Master Yu's attitude, indeed, it was his idea to have Master Yu teaching Toph earthbending, but he never expected the old master would take over his bodyguard duties. "Master Yu, I want you to be aware of something, no matter what, I will once again be our princess's bodyguard, so don't get used to your position quiet yet."

"Long Feng, I have no doubt your care for Toph is real… unfortunately, you also see Toph as a toll… I won't allow you to corrupt our princess, she is still young and has a lot to learn, she needs the proper education, and it will be me the one teaching her… not you… I swear you won't control her anymore…" With that said, Master Yu climbed the carriage and ordered the driver to make his way toward the palace. Long Feng closed his hands into fists, angered by what he had heard; Master Yu once again had the upper hand in the custody of Toph.

"How did you allow such a weakling as Master Yu to take over your duties?" Long Feng turned around to face the owner of that voice, it was Admiral Zhao, a face Long Feng wished to forget, using his earthbending abilities, he attacked Zhao, but the Admiral jumped aside and threw flames at Long Feng who shielded himself behind an earth made wall. "I'm surprised, using your earthbending against me so soon? I thought you were more of the hand to hand combat type."

Many guards made their way toward the commotion site, Zhao never cared much about them, since he had his own guards walking their way down the wooden made bridge. "What is the meaning of this, Zhao? Do you really plan to break war between our nations?"

"You know me better than that, Long Feng… now; you might want to hear my business offer, or do you prefer to fight first and talk later? It is your choice, but we both know fire can burn earth into ashes." Long Feng ordered his guards to stay calm, Zhao did the same. "Smart choice, now, my old friend, let's talk, your king is staying at our nation for a while longer, there is nothing for you to worry." Zhao walked inside of the ship, Long Feng thought against it but then he followed Zhao into the ship and inside the captain's cabin.

"Zhao, no matter how much gold you can offer, this time you are not convincing me to betray my kingdom, the life of my princess is sacred to me now! I committed a mistake and I'm glad my plan failed." Zhao sat down and offered a chair to Long Feng, who refused to accept it. "I still trust my princess to restore my kingdom's glory… once she claims the throne… and replaces her weak father… my kingdom will be able to evolve."

"Then, Long Feng, we are seeking the same thing." Zhao asked Long Feng to take a sit once again, this time the Earth Kingdom officer accepted the offer. "Not long ago, I bought your services with good gold, and you failed to murder your princess… I was wrong, your princess is the key to restore balance between or nations and get rid of those nasty Water Tribe savages for good… this time I plan to eliminate the real obstacle… the Earth King himself…"

"What are you talking about? While I don't see any good on that old hag, murdering him would break a war, I'm not going to take part on this." Zhao placed a crystal bottle in the middle of the table, a red liquid filled it. "This is… poison?"

"Silencing the king slowly will be enough to make it look like a natural disease, no one will find it out, and that is… if his most trusted advisor is the one poisoning his food." Long Feng stood up angrily, Zhao just smiled at him. "Once the king is out of the picture, his heir to the throne will be forced to take over the lead of her kingdom, we are talking about 5 or 7 years in the future, when the king's 'illness' had consumed him and silenced him for good, and once your princess claims the throne, she will allow her most trusted advisor… you… to lead the nation until she is old enough to rule it herself… isn't that a good offer for you to kill your own king?"

"…And what will happen… when she is old enough to rule her kingdom…?" Zhao smiled, once someone asked for the possibilities, it meant only one thing, sooner or later, Long Feng was going to accept his terms. "…Also… what do you win with this…?"

"What I win is nothing more than gold and power, but that's not important for you, answering your question about what will happen when the princess reach her 16th birthday, she will be forced to marry Prince Zuko, tying our nations and creating the strongest empire in history, an empire able to eradicate the Water Tribe for good and punish them for their sins, and where does that leaves you? What about a position of power as strong as mine? As the advisor of Fire Lord Zuko and his Earth Queen, Toph Bei Fong."

Long Feng rubbed his chin, he liked the offer. "There is only one problem… I might be my king's most trusted advisor… but my princess has Master Yu as her personal advisor, with Yu in the middle of the equation, my chances of earning this position of power are very slim."

"You want him out of the equation? I will take care of that, but you must wait a few years, or else, your security will be at risk." Long Feng smiled. "Do we have a deal?" Long Feng nodded and offered his hand to Zhao who smiled evilly, already watching his plan in motion, a plan to take over the Earth Kingdom…

**End of Kid's Saga**


	6. Position of Power

**Slavery Mark: Book One – Fire.**

**Chapter Six: Position of Power (Five Years Later).**

* * *

"…Our world is slowly dying… I can see it inside the hearts of the people… it is only matter of time before it is all over…" Avatar Aang stared at some kind of energy made sphere inside of one of the many Avatar Temple's, his eyes reveled sadness and concern as he was able to see inside of the sphere the faces of those who would determine the fate of the world. "It is sad how the destiny of the world rests on the shoulders of such young souls… I wonder if they will be able to endure it…"

"Grandfather Aang, the monks of the temple are getting worried… is everything ok?" Aang turned around to see the young girl by the door; she was one of the few female nomads allowed inside the Southern Air Temple, which was a boy's only temple. "Grandfather Aang? Am I interrupting?" The girl hid herself behind the mark of the stone made door and played with her long and white hair nervously, Aang just smiled as usual.

"It's ok, Yún, you aren't interrupting, the entire contrary, in these times of sadness, it is better to have your family close to you." Avatar Aang asked Yún to sit next to him and then directed his attention toward the sphere once again. "The destiny of the four nations is tied with blood, and I don't think the spirits will allow it for long… they are getting tired of placing their hopes on the humans…"

"But grandfather Aang… isn't there anything you can do to calm the spirits down? After all, you are the bridge between our world and the spiritual world." Avatar Aang moved his head in negation and stared at the sphere in front of him once again, Yún just hugged him hard, trying to help him endure his sadness.

"I'm afraid I no longer can calm them down… it is no longer my hand controlling destiny… I can see the shadow of war and sorrow surrounding Prince Zuko and the Fire Nation, the madness and hate consuming the pure heart of the young Princess Katara of the Water Tribe, I can even see you playing a major role in the destiny of the Air Nomads…" Yún blinked twice at her grandfather but never broke the hug, the Avatar just continued. "But it is this girl, the Princess of the Earth Kingdom, the one the spirits are watching carefully… through her innocent and blind eyes they see the world of humans crumble… Toph Bei Fong will play a decisive role in the future of our world… and I'm afraid her role is deeply influenced by the lost Prince of the Water Tribe… he who will interfere in her actions and probably break the little balance that is left… the world of men is in great danger… and praying to the spirits is of no use… all we can do now is wait for the princess to fulfill her destiny…"

* * *

"I must say, I am really proud of your improvement so far, Toph, these five years of intense training had given fruits, now you can call yourself a real earthbending master." Toph smiled happily while jumping up and down due to her excitement, her face was covered in mud and her hair was a mess, her right arm and left leg were covered in bandages due to the intense training, and her training clothes were now nothing more than yellow rags covering her body barely. "Now, you can give up your training, or… try the Dai Li level? Which will it be, Toph?"

"I wonder which one I will choose." Toph smirked at Yu, the old master laughed out loud. "Come on master, it took me 2 years to master the Hung Gar and 3 to learn sarcasm, 2 more years to become an earthbending master, you think I will actually give up after going this far? Then guess again! I want to learn all the possible ways of earthbending and kick asses at the 'Earth Rumble' once again!"

"I will forever regret the day I took you to your first Earth Rumble match, not only you were the first person ever to defeat 'The Boulder', you also were the youngest wrestler in history and the first girl ever setting foot on an arena, all in the same day, you do understand I lost 3 years of life that day, don't you?" Toph giggled happily, Yu smiled at her.

"You forgot to mention I was the first person ever to become the undisputed champion! I was like 'roar' and 'the Boulder' like 'don't hurt me!' and I like 'Muahahahaha!' and I defeated every wrestler in the city to earn that title." Master Yu nodded; Toph just kept jumping up and down happily. "Come on master, I'm sure you could have defeated all those weaklings with a hand tied to your back, you are the strongest earthbender in the whole world! You deserve the title more than I do."

"Now there, Toph, quit praising me that much, my earthbending skills are nowhere near yours, all I can do is watch you become better and better all the time and be proud of my success as your master… besides… unlike you, I don't like violence." Toph laughed in disbelief, Master Yu ignored his student and resumed the training. "So, if you want to reach the Dai Li level you must dominate at least two of the five teachings Avatar Kyoshi passed down to the original Dai Li when she was still alive."

"Just two? I want to dominate them all! It can't be that hard! I'm sure you dominate the five teachings yourself already." Master Yu moved his head in negation; Toph felt the vibrations of the action and was impressed. "You… you mean you don't dominate the 5 teachings?"

"It isn't that easy, Avatar Kyoshi was the only person able to dominate her own five teachings, even the current Avatar was unable to dominate them all, but I'm sure you will be able to do it." Toph nodded and took her learning posture, standing still and waiting for Yu's commands. "The five teachings are, one, understand the earth as a living element, not just as a bending instrument, two, listen to the earth and bend it as an extension of yourself, these two teachings are the ones the Dai Li are able to dominate. Did you get them right?"

"I think so, but it's hard to believe earth is a living element." Master Yu glared at Toph; the girl was unable to see the action but could feel the angry-full vibrations coming from Master Yu. "Ok, I get it, earth is alive, you don't have to be such a meany." Toph said that last while playing with her fingers nervously.

"We still have the attitude problem, come on Toph, you are an earthbender, be crueler toward me!" Toph smiled, Yu just ignored her smile and continued. "The third teaching is an evolved form of the second, do not bend the earth, you must learn to be one with it, earth is a part of you, if someone harms the earth, then he is harming you, you must protect the earth and understand it." Master Yu slammed his foot at the ground; Toph giggled a little and then laughed out loud. "What is so funny about that last teaching?"

"You just stepped on me! Hahahahaha!" Toph laughed hard, Yu just slammed his hand hard at his face, trying to keep his coolness, Toph's laugh slowly faded and she cleaned some tears from her eyes and then took her learning posture once again. "Come on Yu, it was funny, you just have no sense of humor, I guess that's ages fault."

"How disrespectful! No, wait… that was rude and it's how an earthbender should act… but it still was disrespectful… oh, never mind; just concentrate in the remaining teachings." Toph nodded while peaking her nose, Yu ignored that last and continued. "Four, the essence of earth is also your own… no one has ever been able to understand what that means but Avatar Kyoshi, despite that minor inconvenient, I'm sure you will be able to find its meaning." Toph nodded, Master you continued. "The final teaching says a bender is as strong as its heart… that teaching is one the Dai Li's decided to ignore, since it is believed it was only Avatar Kyoshi's way to inspire her students… however, you must keep that teaching in mind… once you dominate these five teachings, you will become as strong as Avatar Kyoshi…"

"Just watch me; I will become even stronger than Avatar Kyoshi!" Master Yu nodded and took some distance away from Toph. "I'm ready for my Dai Li training, what should I do now? Demolish a whole mountain using my face? Eat a whole boulder as breakfast?"

"As much as I would enjoy watching you do that, I'm afraid your training will have to wait, you have trained enough for a day and you must get ready for your trip to the Fire Nation." Toph crossed her arms annoyed. "Don't you want to meet your boyfriend again?" She blushed.

"So-So-So-Sokka is not my boyfriend… he is just my dearest friend… and of course I want to meet him again, it is just each time I go to the Fire Nation I'm forced to spend quality time with that annoying prince and his scary sister who always wants to play that game of the apple and firebending." Master Yu began walking away; Toph followed him closely, still shaking by the memory. "And what's with my father's idea of forcing me to move to the Fire Nation? It sort of feels he wants me away so I won't worry about his health anymore." Her words were filled with sadness, Master Yu noticed them.

"Indeed, your father's health is something to worry about… but your trip to the Fire Nation has a stronger meaning, you must understand the way of life of other cultures in order to lead yours properly, and keeping close relationships with the royal members of the Fire Nation will fortify the relationships between our kingdoms." Toph yawned annoyed by the conversation; Master Yu just took a deep breath as reply.

"But, Zuko is boring… I just want to spend more time with Sokka… he makes me feel comfortable… Zuko isn't bad at all, he is nice and caring but he talks about politics and claims to know more history than I do all the time… maybe if he tried being more… I don't know… nice and caring and less Zuko-like, I might enjoy his company."

"So you would rather have Prince Zuko being more Sokka-like?" Toph blushed at the comment. Master Yu just rubbed Toph's head softly.

"Master? I thought you said an earthbender was supposed to be strong and determined. What was that rubbing about?" She was glad because of Yu's care over her but that last move just ignored all his previous teachings.

"I might be an earthbender, but that doesn't mean I have a heart of stone, Toph, I'm also human… you must always keep that in mind." Toph giggled at the feeling of Master Yu's finger tickling her nose. "You must be strong and determined as I told you, but don't be afraid to set your feelings free around those you care for, I'm sure there are many things you have in common with the Prince of the Fire Nation, just try to control your temper."

"Funny you mention that, it was you the one teaching me sarcasm." Master Yu nodded. "Whatever, complaining won't save me from spending the next couple of years at the Fire Nation… you are coming along, aren't you? There is still much I need to learn from you."

"Toph, my wisdom won't always be enough, you must learn to teach yourself, I have only mastered 3 of Avatar Kyoshi's teachings and I'm too old to try dominating the remaining two… the rest of your training is up to you, there is no use of me remaining by your side." Toph 'stared' at Yu with her watering eyes about to break into tears; Yu moved his head in disapproval of her actions but smiled anyway. "…But… as your escort and personal advisor… I might consider your offer."

"Really?" Master Yu smiled and nodded in agreement; Toph jumped toward him happily and hugged him hard. "I'm so glad! I will be able to continue with my training!" Toph might be young, but as a skilled earthbender, she was strong enough to hurt Master Yu with that last hug, and so he tried to push her away.

"Watch it Toph! I'm old! My bones aren't that strong anymore! You are crushing them! And I also told you to be determined and strong! Cut the hugging off!" Toph ignored her master and continued with the hug, until Master Yu managed to push her away. "You surely are a walking catastrophe… Toph, before we part to the Fire Nation, there is a last teaching I have to give you… or better said, an advise… mastering the five teachings of Avatar Kyoshi is dangerous, it is said Kyoshi lost her identity and free will while mastering the last two teachings, you mustn't fall as she did." Toph nodded and made a reverence, Master Yu did the same.

* * *

"Faster! You won't defeat a firebender with such slow movements! Fire is an unpredictable element; you must be as unpredictable as fire itself!" At the Fire Nation, Sokka was training hard to master the art of the sword, Piandao had been training him for five long years and Sokka was already a skilled swordsman, not to mention his skills earned him the right to become Prince Zuko's bodyguard. "Remember, your sword is an extension of yourself, and your blade is the reflection of your soul! Your soul must be sharp to cut through your enemies defenses!"

"Piandao, don't you think you are being too hard with the kid? He is only 13, and he already is the most skilled swordfighter in the whole Fire Nation, even my nephew can't beat him in battle." Iroh had a point, after all, Piandao's training was an intense one, the week before he commanded Sokka to fight through five of the most skilled sword masters of the Fire Nation, not one by one but the five of them in unison, and he barely defeated them all. "Also, one thing is asking him to sword fight; it is different to ask him to defeat a firebender, mostly if that firebender is Jeong Jeong."

Sokka was having a hard time evading the powerful bending attacks of the old master, he could barely make a move, but his determination was enough to keep him fighting. "With all respect, Iroh, if we want Sokka to lead our nations toward times of peace, he needs to be able to defeat even the strongest of masters." Iroh barely nodded, for him, it was cruel to push Sokka that hard. "Remember your fighting style, Sokka! Move as a mantis! Gracefully and mortally, once you identify the weakness of your opponent, strike!"

"Listen to Piandao, son! If you want to beat me in battle you must use that technique we taught you." Jeong Jeong threw huge fireballs at Sokka, who slashed them away with his precious black sword, one he had crafted himself using a unique material found by Piandao during his travels around the Fire Nation. "What are you waiting for? Look for those pressure points!" Sokka nodded while dodging fireballs, he then jumped over Jeong Jeong and landed at his back. Then he placed the fingers of his free hand into position, and in a fast movement he pressed a zone on Jeong Jeong's chest while he blocked another firebending attack with his sword, the battle stopped, but Jeong Jeong smiled. "Sorry son, wrong pressure point." And with that, Jeong Jeong threw a fireball toward Sokka's chest, sending him flying to the other side of the training camp. "There, you were killed in battle, for the eleventh time this week, fire is perhaps the most dangerous of elements, Sokka, and a direct attack like that one would have killed you if it wasn't because of the outfit we forced you to wear."

Sokka stood up weakly, the protective black outfit of rare materials he wore prevented any burn or scars of any kind to appear, and so, his body was intact, although his warrior's pride was deeply wounded. "I don't get it, Master; I have been studying the pressure points for a year! Why can't I master this technique?" Jeong Jeong rubbed his stomach and then laughed. "It isn't funny; I will never become a knight like this! I'm a failure!" Jeong Jeong slammed a couple of fingers at Sokka's head, the Water Tribe slave seemed to be hurt by that last hit from the old firebender.

"You did press a pressure point, but you are mistaking 'Chi Blocking' with acupuncture, the point you pressed was my hunger point, now I'm hungry." Jeong Jeong laughed, Sokka just looked away ashamed. "It's ok; you can starve your opponents until they surrender." Sokka rolled his eyes annoyed. "Chi blocking and acupuncture are tools you can use in war, but you need to be patient and learn every single pressure point."

"But there are many pressure points! How can I press the correct one? I don't have the time to learn them all, it is impossible! How will this help me in battle?" Jeong Jeong made a reverence, Sokka took a deep breath and mimicked the reverence, and so, the training was now over. "I still think I should just kill my opponent."

"That's a rough way of thinking." Master Piandao walked toward Sokka; the young teen kneeled as signal of respect toward his master. "Five years ago you kneeled to me just like now and said 'I want to become a knight, please teach me the proper path to follow' and I accepted you as my student, over the years you have learned culture of the four nations and sword techniques from all over the world, but I'm not training you to become a killing machine, remember you don't always know the life behind your enemy, he or she may have a deeper reason to fight than yours, or have a family waiting for their safe return, beating your opponent in battle and sparing his or her life is the proper way to become a knight."

"Yes Master… I apologize… but there is something I'm still unable to understand… why do I need these teachings about pressure points and Chi Blocking to defeat a firebender, can't I just knock him unconscious?" Jeong Jeong laughed at Sokka's words; the teen just gave him an odd stare.

"Not all firebenders are that easy to defeat son, the great majority will burn you crispy even before you can hit the proper place to knock them unconscious, you must be faster than that, faster than their own breathing, and then press the first pressure point you can find to immobilize your enemy." Jeong Jeong said that last while stuffing great portions of rise due to his starving.

"In order to achieve real superiority against your enemy, you must first understand them and then learn how to defeat them." Jeong Jeong and Piandao both nodded at Iroh's words of wisdom, Sokka just remained in silence. "In order to defeat a firebender you must learn Chi Blocking, which is also a great weapon against any other bender, but mostly against firebenders; to be victorious against an airbender you must learn Aikido, a martial art technique based in defeating your opponent using their own strength against themselves, an airbender is tricky and hard to fight, you must be patient and strike when the proper time comes; defeating a waterbender is also hard, their movements are fluid as water itself, but slow at the same time, to fight it back, you must learn Chuan, which is a form of martial art which is better learned inside of the water, you will learn it's power and how to use it as a weapon; your hardest task will be learning the Hung Gar, also known as the way of a mantis, Chi Blocking and Hung Gar are linked in the nature of their movements, but the Hung Gar must be perfect, every move needs to be in synchrony with the other, no mistakes are allowed in the Hung Gar."

"The road will be hard, Sokka, but we are sure you will be able to do it… perhaps what you need is to train these skills with someone who had already mastered them… for example, Jeong Jeong taught Chi Blocking to Ty Lee, she might help you out." Sokka moved his head in negation and began sweating hard; he was about to complain when Master Piandao spoke out first. "I know you don't like her as much as she likes you, but she mastered the Chi Blocking faster than anyone, she is the best teacher you can ask for… there is nothing else Jeong Jeong, Iroh, or I can teach you, your training now is Ty Lee's responsibility." Sokka took a deep breath but managed to nod in agreement.

"Yes my masters… guess I have no options left." Sokka made a reverence and walked away toward his room in order to get himself ready for his new training, Piandao, Jeong Jeong, and Iroh were all proud of him.

"I still remember the day I fought his father at the battlefield, Hakoda, 'The Blade of the South' such an impressive fighter, but I think Sokka had already surpassed him, soon he will be ready for the task ahead." Iroh nodded, but Jeong Jeong wasn't at all convinced by that last. "It's something the matter, my old friend?"

"Actually, there is, you both are forgetting the kid has no time left, the health of the Earth King is terrible, and his daughter will hit land at our nation today, that girl will determine the future of our world, we must do something to stop Zhao's plan." Piandao smiled at the words of Jeong Jeong, who was unable to understand the meaning of that smile.

"I believe that problem will be solved by itself… the Earth Princess may be engaged to our prince, but her heart is engaged to the one of Sokka… I wonder if these feelings they have the one for the other will be enough to dissolve an engagement as this one." Jeong Jeong and Iroh both exchanged looks since they were unable to understand what Piandao was talking about, but it was of no importance at all for the wise Master. "It's late, we are supposed to travel along our Fire Lord in a business trip toward the neighbor towns, we better get moving."

* * *

"Asking Ty Lee to be my Master? Master Piandao can't be serious, she is a girl! No girl is stronger than a man, right Hawky?" Sokka walked around the stable of the Piandao mansion with his Red-Ribbon-Messenger-Hawk at his shoulder, that hawk was a present from Master Piandao to him for his improvements in the arts of the sword. "Besides, Ty Lee is insane, she keeps being all lovely toward me, I have tried to tell her she isn't my type but she refuses to listen to me, why is all this happening today? I must go see Toph; I haven't seen her since last year!"

Hawky as usual just listened to everything Sokka had to say, he was a smart Hawk, but unable to speak Sokka's language. "Come on Hawky, I know you miss her too, what about you Eelen? You do enjoy spending your time with Toph, after all, you both are girls." Eelen is Sokka's Giant-Eel-Hound, another present from Master Piandao, although the creature is young and isn't considered a giant yet. "Whatever, I don't know why do I bother, it doesn't matter what I do, I'm still a slave, and she is the powerful and all mighty Earth Princess, it is only matter of time before she starts being all cold and arrogant toward me, after all, there is no way a Princess like her can like an slave like me… sure, I'm the luckiest of all slaves, but… it is all thanks to this glove… what will happen when everyone finds out the truth?"

Eelen began pulling Sokka's ponytail, Sokka didn't like that last, but it was the way the Giant-Eel-Hound showed her affection for him. "Cut it off Eelen! It hurts! Ouch! Ok! I get it! I won't give up! I will work hard to become a knight!" And after that last was said, Eelen set Sokka free. "You do spend too much time with Toph; you are as hard tempered as her… so, what will it be…? We go and ask Ty Lee to be my master…? Or, we go the other way and look for Toph instead?" Both Hawky and Eelen moved their heads in direction to the docks, which of course were the answers Sokka was expecting. "Agreed, toward the docks we go! I can't wait to see her again, I wonder if she hadn't forgotten her promise."

* * *

"I wonder if he hadn't forgotten his promise… it's been five years and he still thinks I don't know what being engaged means… sure, I was an innocent and ignorant five years old girl when we made that promise… but a promise is a promise… and he promised we would get married someday… damn! It isn't like an earthbender to think this way! I must be strong and sarcastic! But I do want to meet him again… I miss him… I wonder if he misses me too…" The ship toward the Fire Nation was already devising land at the distance, but as usual, Toph had no idea of it, she was no longer the sea sickness girl she used to be, but she hated traveling by sea, she was totally blind inside the huge wooden made ships, and because of that inconvenient, she was unable to notice the one at her back.

"I do hope you are talking about Prince Zuko." Toph never turned around to 'face' the one at her back, she already knew that voice perfectly, Long Feng, her former babysitter. "Lady Bei Fong, I must say it is an honor to travel with you after five long years of allowing Master Yu to be your escort."

"Master Yu is still my escort, Long Feng… but I surely have missed you." Long Feng smiled and allowed Toph to hug him. "But Master Yu is my new escort, it was my father's order after all, and I like Master Yu a lot, so I'm not sad if you aren't with me." Long Feng showed himself disturbed by the princess's words, but smiled despite Toph's preference of Master Yu over him.

"But my lady, Master Yu is a dangerous person… he is a traitor to the crown." Toph blinked twice after hearing that last; Long Feng just sat at the wooden made floor of the ship and asked Toph to sit by his side as she used to do when she was only five years old. "My princess, I don't intent to be porter of such bad news but… Master Yu is planning a conspiracy against Prince Zuko."

"Conspiracy? That is something bad, right?" Long Feng nodded and then looked around the place until he made sure they were alone. "But… Master Yu isn't a bad person, he is nice and caring, and his vibrations are so peaceful most of the time, he is only bad when he is angry… why would he be mad at Prince Zuko? He is boring and stubborn, but he is really nice, Master Yu likes him a lot."

"Master Yu is a fake, my princess… I have known Master Yu for a long time, and I know he is greedy, he desires power among everything, that's why he replaced me as your escort five years ago… and now he is planning something bigger… he will murder Prince Zuko for you to be free of your promise toward him." Toph was unable to understand what promise Long Feng was talking about, he was aware of it. "It was supposed to be a secret, but in honor of our past friendship, I will reveal everything to you… five years ago, you were promised by your father, Lao Bei Fong, in marriage for the Prince of the Fire Nation."

"…But… but… that can't be true! I am already engaged, I'm going to marry Sokka when I'm old enough, we promised we would!" Long Feng was surprised to hear that last, but he attributed Toph's supposed engagement as an innocent kid's game. "I don't want to marry Prince Zuko, I don't like him, Sokka will be… sad… and so will I!" Long Feng cleaned Toph's tears away from her eyes and moved her hair away from her face. "Why would my father want me to marry Zuko… you are joking… it isn't true… right?"

"Power and politics are complicated, as is your engagement with Prince Zuko, not even he knows he is promised to you, only we, the ones close to the king, know about it, and Yu isn't happy with the engagement, since it would mean losing his position of power." Toph showed herself interested about this supposed position Long Feng was talking about. "I'm afraid to say this my dear princess, but Master Yu had been using you… he had befriended you just because of his own benefit, he never cared about you, he just cared about his position of power, a position that is now in danger, since now you are forced to live at the Fire Lord's palace down the care of Prince Zuko himself, there is no longer need for Yu's services, he will be fired and be back to be nothing more than a teacher at a bender's school, he has no choice but murder the prince in order to remain by your side…"

"…You are lying…" Long Feng was surprised, five years ago tricking her wasn't that difficult, but Toph was no longer as innocent as to be fooled that easily. "Master Yu is not a bad person, he is nice and cares about me a lot, almost as much as my own father, he would never do something that horrible, I don't like Zuko, and I don't want to marry him, but Yu won't hurt him because of me, you are lying! You are bad! You are hurting my feelings!" And with that, Toph broke into tears, Long Feng wanted to comfort her but Toph just kept crying.

"My lady, what is all this yelling I hear?" Toph ran toward Yu and hugged him hard, burying her face at her master's tunic. "Hey, Toph, what is all this crying about? I thought we discussed it long time ago, you are an earthbender, no crying is allowed!" Toph nodded and calmed down, although she still hugged Yu strongly. "What have you done, Long Feng?"

"What I did was to tell her the truth; you can't protect her forever, Yu! She has the right to know about her engagement with Prince Zuko." Master Yu showed himself really angered by that last, and so, he reacted aggressively, Long Feng never expected an old master like him would react that violently to his doings, Master Yu moved so fast and slammed his fist hard at Long Feng's face that he never noticed it and ended in the floor rubbing his wounded face. "So, the rumors were true, you are stronger than you look."

"How dare you disturb our princess's mind with such preoccupations? She is only ten years old Long Feng! She is too young for those kinds of matters! Not only has she had to stand her father's health, now you worry her with her royal responsibilities? I pity you, Long Feng, you truly have no heart, come on Toph!" Yu took Toph's hand and walked her away, Long Feng just glared evilly at Yu and then at a cloaked figure hiding himself around the cargo. Yu kept walking with Toph toward the other side of the ship, he was sad and Toph was still shocked by the news of her engagement. "Come on Toph, don't be sad, that's only a rumor, there is no need to worry about that."

"But, what if it is true? What if my father did promise me in marriage to Prince Zuko? What will Sokka think about me? He will think I wasn't loyal." Master Yu burst into laughter after hearing that last, but forced himself not to. "It isn't funny, Master! I don't want to marry Zuko, I hate him."

"Now, don't be that extremist!" Master Yu pulled Toph's ear, the girl complained and began rubbing it carefully. "Toph, you are too young to think about these things, you still have six years to think about who you want to marry." Toph smiled, six years where a really long time to her. "Marriage is adult's stuff, all you have to worry about is being a good friend of Zuko, and that kid Sokka you are always talking about, so, I want you to promise me you won't worry about this supposed engagement, and remember, you already have a boyfriend."

"Do you really think Sokka is my boyfriend?" Master Yu was disturbed by that last question, but Toph was way too innocent to believe she had a formal relationship with the boy, so Yu nodded in agreement after placing Toph's tiny hand on his head so she would know he was nodding. "I'm so glad!"

"Whatever, Toph… you may want to go hiding somewhere, we are about to hit land, and you know Eelen is an impatient Eel-Hound, she never waits for you to disembark." Toph nodded, and forgetting all the previous talk she had with Long Feng, she ran happily in search of a nice hiding spot, Master Yu just glared at Long Feng at the distance, the tension was growing between the two of them.

* * *

"Easy girl! There is no reason to rush! The ship hasn't hit land yet! Bad Eelen!" The monstrous creature ignored Sokka's yells and kept running toward the docks breaking havoc between the habitants of the proximities. "Eelen! Stop it girl! Stop! Bad Eelen! You are winning way too much attention!" The huge Eel-Hound stopped when she reached the docks; she stopped so suddenly that Sokka almost fell to the ocean, he would have if someone hadn't pulled him by the collar just in time. "Now that was close… I was about to see a bath in my future."

"You will thank me later brother." Sokka faced the one saving him from the bath and smiled. "You know, your crush toward the Earth Princess is fascinating, I had never seen anyone breaking havoc around my nation over a girl as you just had, seriously, your Eel-Hound needs serious domestication." Zuko said that last while petting his Armored-Lion-Panther, his royal medium of transportation.

"Zuko, you came as well, but I thought you disliked the Earth Princess, you both are always arguing about any minor detail." Prince Zuko nodded; by the look on his face Sokka was sure he was doing this by force. "I will take a guess and say it is a matter of royalty." Zuko nodded once again, Sokka just smiled. "If you want to, I can… you know, protect you from her hard tempered self, I'm your bodyguard after all."

"Very funny Sokka, but we both know you still need to become a knight to be able to interact with the Princess, you are here as my bodyguard and personal advisor, not as the princess's personal 'b-o-y-friend' if you know what I mean." Sokka was offended by that last comment but decided to ignore it once he saw the huge Earth Kingdom royal ship hitting land. "…Fine… I will pretend I saw nothing as usual… go get your girlfriend."

"She isn't my… fine, maybe she sort of is my girlfriend… thanks Zuko, I owe you a big one." Sokka never had to command his Eel-Hound toward the ship since the animal already began running toward the royal transport at the distance, Sokka tried to stop her from boarding the ship, but the creature ignored him and went inside, pushing various of the guards down the wooden made bridge connecting the ship with the docks and into the water. "Wait, Eelen!"

She ignored him once again and searched for the girl she liked so much around the ship, guiding herself by her incredible nose she found the blind girl's hiding spot and bit her collar, pulling her out from her resting place inside of a cargo box. "No! Eelen! It is an expensive battle tunic! Stop it girl!" Toph hugged the Eel-Hound hard once the creature set her free; Eelen just moved her tail from a side to the other happily and made funny sounds toward the girl. "I'm so glad to feel your slimy skin once again girl!" Hawky didn't stay behind, he left Sokka's shoulder and flew toward Toph's one, rubbing himself against the girl's cheek. "I missed you too Hawky… hi Sokka… it's been a long time, hasn't it?"

Sokka smiled and climbed down his Eel-Hound and walked slowly toward Toph. "…Yeah… Pretty much…" Toph giggled as reply and then hugged Sokka strongly; Sokka returned the hug and then flinched at the feeling of Toph's lips hitting his cheek. "Toph! I'm a peasant, you shouldn't do that!" Toph ignored him and hugged him hard once again.

"I don't care about your social status; you are still my dearest friend, so get used to it!" She said that last hitting his arm strongly, Sokka complained and began rubbing his wounded zone.

"Ouch! Such hostility! I still remember those days you used to cry about everything, what happened to that cute and helpless little blind girl I met at Ba Sing Se?" Toph giggled happily and hugged Sokka once again. "Ok, I get it, you are still that girl, I'm glad… hey… what happened to your bracelet? Did you have it crafted?" Toph smiled and placed her hand where she knew Sokka's weird looking bracelet was, and she easily bended it into the same shape her one had. "Wow, you can really metalbend?"

"Just keep it a secret, I don't want Master Yu to think I'm already at Dai Li level, or else he will quit training me." Sokka hugged Toph once again, the girl returned the hug happily; they remained like that for a while until Prince Zuko cleared his throat, wining both of his friend's attentions. "Great! Prince Fire Fart arrived, what do you want spoil fun?"

"I'm glad to see you too, my princess… although the nickname you use to refer to me is offensive, I was only 10 years old when that happened, I was… immature." He said that last like reminding Toph about her age. Sokka was once again able to feel the tension between the Princess of the Earth Kingdom and his Prince of the Fire Nation, Toph just hugged Sokka's arm strongly as she did when she was only five years old. "Welcome to the Fire Nation, my lady, it is my pleasure to have you here."

"Keep your pleasure to yourself; let me tell you I'm not that glad to spend the next years on this place… and if you know what is good for you, you will stay away from me, I know sarcasm and plan to use it." Zuko's eyebrow was shaking with hatred toward the girl in front of him, Toph's one seemed to be sharing the same feeling.

"My prince and princess, I beg your forgiveness but, we must disembark." Zuko and Toph both nodded, and as an act of royalty and respect, Prince Zuko made a reverence and offered his hand for the princess to take in order to help her disembark. "Toph… just take his hand please…"

The girl refused to do it, which of course was a huge offence to the prince. "I apologize, but in my kingdom, we ask our closest servants to escort us to our destinations, so I will just ask Sokka to escort me toward the Fire Palace, I'm sure his majesty, Prince Zuko, has more important issues at hand than taking care of such a helpless little girl like me." That last angered Zuko; Sokka just slapped his own forehead in annoyance.

"With all respect, my lady, I wouldn't be able to live with the wound of my honor if you don't allow me to escort you to the palace safely." Zuko took Toph's hand, which of course angered her. "It will be my pleasure to take care of your needs as long as you are my guest." That won Toph's attention; Long Feng did mention something about Zuko taking care of her on Master Yu's place. And while her mind was distracted with that subject, Prince Zuko managed to walk her down the wooden made bridge. "My father, Fire Lord Ozai, and my sister, Princess Azula, are out of the capital in a business trip at a merchant town, but my father left the city down my care and allowed a celebration I planned in honor of your return to our nation, I'm sure it will be of your enjoyment."

Sokka took a deep breath, Zuko was his best friend, but he surely ruined his chance of spending the rest of the day with the girl he loved, and so he commanded Eelen to follow the royal couple toward the palace, it sort of hurt him to see Toph clinging to Zuko's arm, but as prince and princess, that interaction was quiet normal.

From inside of the ship, Master Yu watched it all carefully and enjoyed Toph's cutting edge replies greatly, at least that was until Admiral Zhao interrupted his watch. "Master Yu, isn't it? The name is Admiral Zhao; it is a pleasure to finally be able to meet the greatest earthbending master in the whole Earth Kingdom."

"Admiral Zhao, I have heard a lot from you, such a commemorated navy officer, I heard you brought victory to your nation many times against the Water Tribe." Master Yu made a reverence Fire Nation style, Zhao returned the reverence. "Is there something I can help you with, Admiral?"

"Actually, there is…" Yu was able to notice some Dai Li agents moving around the cargo, hiding themselves in the shadows, normally, no one would have noticed, but Master Yu had trained the Dai Li agents himself and knew how they worked, something was terribly wrong, he knew it. "I must apologize in advantage, but since our nations hadn't always been in the best of terms, it is a politic to investigate the identities of those arriving at our nation, an intelligence report from our operational station at the Earth Kingdom had reported there might be a traitor between the crew of this ship." Master Yu faked his amusement, playing along with Zhao. "We have our reasons to believe this supposed traitor had planned a terrorist attack against our Prince, Master Yu, I am kindly asking for your collaboration into capturing and bringing this terrorist to justice."

"A terrorist? Why would there be the need of a terrorist attack on these times of peace?" Admiral Zhao noticed the tone of voice Yu was speaking with and smiled. "After 500 years of war we are finally able to enjoy a little peace, why breaking that equilibrium we were barely able to achieve?" Admiral Zhao finally quit playing mind games, Yu was aware of what was going on, he only wanted Zhao to speak and reveal his plan, but Zhao was also aware of Yu's knowledge.

"The four nations can't coexist in peace, Master Yu, not with the shameful leadership of their rulers." No more games, this time Yu also knew it. "It is a time of change… I heard you are greedy, Master Yu, and I know you desire gold among everything… do as I tell you and I swear gold beyond your imagination, and a well-paid position of power among your old friend Long Feng… what do you say, Master Yu?"

"…I see… it is true, I am greedy… I'm old as well; I could surely use a little monetary help…" Zhao smiled. "Unfortunately, I have my hopes placed on my Princess, and I will protect her with my life if needed be, my greed is nothing compared to the respect I feel for my Princess, I thought you would know that by now… Long Feng." Yu moved fast to avoid the hit from the person he knew was at his back, and then kicked his leg hard, forcing Long Feng to trip and hit Zhao with his body. "You better surrender, I trained the Dai Li, no matter how many they are, they won't defeat me, I don't need earthbending to know that."

Every Dai Li agent came out from their hiding spot, there was no earth to bend at the ship, Yu knew it, but he was skilled enough as to fight back if needed. "True, Master Yu, but I am not an earthbender, I placed my trust on fire!" Zhao attacked Yu who avoided the attack and kicked the face of a Dai Li agent who approached to him, then he began fighting other agents easily, he taught them everything they knew, except for a vital difference, Yu knew Hung Gar, and was able to move faster than any Dai Li. "Impressive moves for such an old master, I wonder if your student will be as powerful as you are."

"Toph already surpassed my abilities, she can use the Hung Gar in a way no one will ever be able to do it, she is truly the greatest earthbender in history, and she is just ten years old, I plan to witness firsthand the extension of her unlimited potential, I won't be defeated!" Zhao laughed at Yu and ordered the Dai Li to keep their distance.

"We will see about that, you may be the strongest earthbender Master, but without earth to bend I have the upper hand, you can't beat me." And so, Zhao battled Yu, there was no earth to bend, and Yu knew fire was the wildest of all elements, some years ago he would have been able to win, but age was his strongest enemy, and soon, he fall in defeat.

When Yu finally woke up he was tied from hands and legs by chains, he was inside a strange room with nothing but a candle in front of him, but soon, he noticed there was someone inside of the room as well, his face filled itself with anger as he saw Long Feng walking toward him. "What a pity, I remember our days at the earthbending academy, you were my master but soon we became friendly rivals… until King Bumi had you as his student, imagine my surprise when I grew to know you surpassed him and earned the right to be the Avatar's master… I always envied you, I wanted to be the strongest earthbender, but you left me behind with your prodigy like abilities."

"Prodigy? I am nothing near prodigy… I was a 16 years old teen who was just lucky… Avatar Aang… he saw good in my heart and taught me to ignore my greed, only then King Bumi took me as his student… he wanted to train me enough to become the Avatar's Master… I was young and full of hopes back then, and just wanted to be stronger… now I'm old and weak, but I managed to teach my princess all I learned and even more… if you want to kill me then do it, but I swear, Long Feng… my princess will lead her kingdom proudly and bring times of peace." Long Feng slapped Master Yu hard and then forced him to look at him.

"Kill you? Why killing you when I can make you pay for everything you had stolen from me? I wanted to be Bumi's student; I wanted to be the strongest earthbender! I wanted to lead our princess toward glory! Be by her side when her unique earthbending skills leaded our army to victory! Conquering the Water Tribe! Banishing the Air Nomads! And creating the strongest empire in history with the promise of her wedding with Prince Zuko! And then, be commemorated as my queen's loyal advisor, earning a position of power everyone would envy! And then you would look at me with your eyes buried in sadness and jealously!" Long Feng walked toward the candle and earthbended it's earth made vase, making it spin around the room on top of earth made rails.

"If you aren't going to kill me… then, what are you going to do with me…?" Master Yu was barely able to breathe, he was weak of health due to the age, and his lungs weren't ready to breathe easily in such a small room.

"I'm going to dominate your mind and force you to be my slave." Master Yu watched the light moving across the room, he suddenly began feeling weaker, his mind was blanking itself. "You will obey my every command… fight anyone in your way… use all your earthbending abilities to break havoc around the palace with only one objective, to hurt Prince Zuko and make it look like a terrorist attack, you mustn't kill the prince, also, you mustn't harm Zhao, you are free to do whatever you want with anyone else…"

* * *

A huge celebration was already taking place at the Fire Nation palace; many wealthy family members were sharing some drinks as well as some bad jokes about peasants and slaves. Sokka disliked the situation but was forced to endure it, after all, he just made it inside of the celebration due to Toph's and Zuko's insistence, both worked well together to convince the guards into allowing him inside, but now that they were inside they did nothing but argue. "Your knowledge about your own kingdom's culture is really poor, it wasn't Avatar Kyoshi the one leading the attack toward the Southern Water tribe and breaking their wall, it was Jen Kin Han the one breaking their wall, it is inside all Fire Nation history books!"

"Well, I have held books before, and let me tell you, they don't exactly do it for me." Zuko nodded in agreement. "But I'm telling you, I heard from my mother when she was still alive that it was Avatar Kyoshi the one destroying the wall of the Southern Water Tribe, it took her one hundred days to bring it down, and it isn't my fault your culture is sexist enough as to give all credit to a fictional character as Jen Kin Han, the Kin Han family is and always will be a group of farmers, I know because that family has served the Bei Fong's for several generations." Sokka took a deep breath, Zuko and Toph, as members of royalty, were forced to learn everything about their nation's history, he was also forced to learn, but due to Master Piandao's teachings, he knew the culture of each nation by each point of view, which of course meant the argument was going to be really long.

"Oh yeah? Why don't we ask the expert? Sokka! You know everything there is to know about the Water Tribe culture, tell this girl it was Jen Kin Han the one breaking the Wall of the Southern Water Tribe!" Sokka scratched the back of his head nervously; Zuko was so angered about Toph's supposed knowledge about her culture that he was slowly discovering him as a member of the Water Tribe to all the members sharing their table.

"That's a lie! Kids of my kingdom grew with the knowledge of Avatar Kyoshi destroying the wall and finally bringing a stop to all Water Tribe invasion forces, Avatar Kyoshi is an inspiration to all girls at my Kingdom! Sokka! You know the truth; tell Prince Fire Fart he is wrong!" Sokka found the conversation a little disturbing; after all, it was his tribe the one suffering for the fall of their wall. "Come on Sokka! Tell him the truth!"

"Umm… well… I have studied a lot about the Water Tribe… there is a Jen Kin Han in the books of the Fire Nation who is said to have destroyed the wall." Zuko crossed his arms proudly after being right; Toph just 'looked' at Sokka with teary eyes. "Uh… well… but Fire Nation history is not at all correct, since Earth Kingdom history books say it was Avatar Kyoshi the one destroying the wall." Toph stuck her tongue out at Zuko who glared at her evilly. "…But… if you really wanna know, you must read the Water Tribe history… the… the wall was never destroyed… it… it melted due to the arrival of spring… Avatar Kyoshi launched an attack to the Southern Water tribe just when the wall was in the middle of its rebuild… she didn't destroy it, she just interrupted the construction and prevented it… the rest are just exaggerations…"

Toph and Zuko both blinked twice in disbelief, Sokka just scratched the back of his head nervously. Suddenly, one of the wealthy members around the table began laughing at Sokka. "How funny! Melted by spring? There is no spring at the South Pole son! Peasant boys are so funny! We should allow them inside of the castle to have some fun once in a while!" Many wealthy members laughed with the man making fun of Sokka. "Besides, there is no way you can know, you are a peasant, you have no studies, the only way you could know the truth is being a Water Tribe savage!" Once again everyone broke into laughter, Sokka was deeply offended, Toph and Zuko both just flinched.

"…They… surely… have no idea… to believe I always thought Avatar Kyoshi had destroyed the Southern Water Tribe Wall… my mother lied to me… I was so proud of Avatar Kyoshi…" Zuko nodded, he was blushing with embarrassment.

"…Jen Kin Han… what an idiotic name… it was obvious it was only a fictional character… what was I thinking…? I guess history books are full of lies… now they are going to say Avatar Kuruk was the good guy…" Toph nodded, Sokka faced the floor ashamed.

"…No matter which book I search the truth from… avatar Kuruk is always the bad guy…" Both Toph and Zuko were surprised by that last reply. "Avatar Kuruk broke war between the four nations searching for 'The Supremacy of the Element', water can consume fire, sink entire continents and resist the raging wind, Kuruk thought waterbenders were supposed to rule the world, he… convinced his people into erasing the Fire Nation from the map, and he almost did, using the full moon as their weapon… half of the Fire Nation disappeared due to his tremendous powers… many died… the Water Tribe was never forgiven by their sins."

"And will never be!" Once again the same wealthy member spoke out, the alcohol was driving him to be extroverted, but his words were nothing but the truth. "The Water Tribe should be punished, they killed many innocents seeking this supposed supremacy, those savages deserve nothing but suffering, I will only be able to rest peacefully once those monsters are punished badly for their sins and sold as slaves with no rights, and even that would be a benevolent punishment." Sokka was angered by that last, his eyes began shaking with fury and rage, Zuko could see it perfectly, Toph was unable to see it but could feel the wild and insane vibrations hitting her soles, such vibrations were intimidating. "If I ever see a Water Tribe son of Kuruk around, I will beat the hell out of him and…" Before the extroverted member of high society could finish, Sokka's sword was slashed at the table, cutting it in half, the room went into silence, many guards ran toward Sokka's direction, but Prince Zuko stood in the middle.

"Calm down everybody, Sokka!" Sokka finally reacted, his fury-full eyes returned to normal as he was able to notice the looks of everyone in the room, but it was Toph's blind stare what hurt him the most, the girl's blind eyes seemed full with disappointment at his actions, he couldn't take it anymore, he hid his sword and ran away of the palace. "So-Sokka? Toph, go after him, I will try to explain what is going on." Toph stood up from her table and then did a reverence as the society lady she was, once that was done she ran after Sokka.

Sokka was ashamed of his own actions, he was born in a tribe consumed by hate, fear, and pain, he couldn't help but allow the wild side consuming his soul to explode when hearing those comments about his tribe, it hurt him, it burned his chest with pain and torment, it had been so long since he felt that way. The last time he felt this furious and wild was at the rebellion at Ba Sing Se, back then, Toph saved him from this dark side of him, and tonight, Toph was saving him once again. "Sokka?" The teen's running stopped, he stood there with his eyes in blank, waiting for the girl to arrive to his side, once she did, she hugged him from the back and broke into tears.

"…Why… why are you crying…? It is me the one supposed to cry… but I can't… I can just feel… hate and agony; I can't stand this feeling… I want to see that moron covered in blood, I want him to eat his words and suffer! I can't allow him to insult my tribe like that, I need to… hurt him, I want to hurt him!" Toph hugged him harder, not allowing him to draw his sword once again. "Let me go! I don't want him to think he is better than me!"

"Sokka! Stop! You are hurting yourself!" Sokka fell to his knees and allowed his sword to hit the floor. "Don't listen to him! What are you! A savage?" Those words caught Sokka off guarded, he never expected Toph to speak to him like that, and in some way, she expected it the less. "You aren't a bad person, Sokka, you are nice and caring, I don't want to feel those vibrations again, you are strong! Show some spine!"

"You… really grew up… didn't you?" Toph hugged Sokka once again, the young warrior just smiled at her. "I… I'm sorry… I just, lost my mind back there… for years I lived with fear and was forced to mature at such an early age, I couldn't think in anything else than hurting my enemy, I was… a savage… nothing more than a wild and lonely kid… I had nothing… just my warrior's pride and the wish to protect those I cared for with my life… I was always ready to die… and now when I'm finally able to have a semi-normal life… just by hearing the way everyone talks about my tribe… it hurts… it burns me… it consumes me… I can't stand it… I just can't… I feel this urge to hurt others, to go back to be that savage I was!"

"Not anymore! You will never be that person again! I won't allow it!" Sokka stared at Toph's eyes; they were sharp and proud, just as his eyes were before, suddenly, those eyes changed, filling themselves with concern, care, and happiness. "Sokka, I want my boyfriend to be strong, but I don't want you to be sad by doing it, I want you to be your usual and cheerful self! The one who cares for me and calls me weirdo all the time, the one who smiles, laughs, and explains everything I don't understand, the one who promised to marry me someday!" Toph giggled, Sokka just looked away.

"You… you don't even know what marriage means yet you weirdo." Toph smiled, that smile stole a blush from Sokka. "How can you smile like that? Isn't there anything wrong in your life? You are blind, and a crybaby, but you are always smiling, how can you be so strong?" Sokka never had an answer, at least not the one he was expecting, he just blushed at the feeling of Toph's hand resting carefully on his chin. "Toph… what are you doing?" Toph said nothing once again, she leaned closer to Sokka and kissed him softly on his lips, but only for a second, it wasn't at all a real kiss since she barely touched his lips, but was enough to drive Sokka nuts. "You… you… you kissed me! Bu-bu-but why?"

"You are my boyfriend now!" Sokka blinked, Toph just smiled. "Listen Sokka, perhaps I was only five years old when I made that promise to you but… you are my best friend, and I care for you, and I know you care for me too… when I grow up, I want you to keep your promise."

"You still don't get it Toph… this isn't a game, I was only eight when I promised I would marry you, now I'm older and know it isn't possible, I like you, I like you a lot, but… but… soon you will understand… that was just a kid's game, it wasn't real… and even if you still liked me the way you think you do… you are a princess, I'm just a peasant." Toph just smiled while offering her hand for Sokka to grab.

"We will have to wait until I'm older then, but I promise, my feelings for you won't change." Now Sokka was confused, that answer seemed like one an older girl would use, not a ten years old girl. "Now, let's go, this celebration is in my honor, it is disrespectful from me to just leave." Sokka nodded, he was then about to take Toph's hand when a huge tremor hit the castle. Sokka hugged Toph protectively as he noticed the place was falling apart. "What is going on?"

"I don't know! But Zuko may be in danger! I'm his bodyguard! I'm supposed to be protecting him!" Sokka ran toward the meeting room, pulling Toph all the way, he drew his sword out, not even waiting to know if it was or wasn't needed, many wealthy members around the palace began running away in fear. But Sokka kept running in the opposite direction. "Toph! Something wrong is going on, I want you to stay where it's safe, I'm going looking for Zuko."

Toph hid herself behind the destroyed metal door and placed both feet firmly at the ground, feeling everything that was going on. Many royal guards where fighting an earthbender who Toph knew perfectly, Sokka was about to run and aid the soldiers in their fight when Toph stopped him. "Wait! Sokka! That's Master Yu!" It took Sokka a couple of minutes to understand what was going on, the earthbender fighting the royal guards and avoiding their flame attacks was using a blue demon like mask to hide his identity, but Toph still knew who he was since she had no need to see with her useless eyes, she saw it all with her feet. "But something is different, his vibrations are different."

"I… what can I do?" Sokka saw how Master Yu defeated all the firebenders among the castle, but then he reacted, Zuko was nowhere to be found, or at least that's what he thought, Toph grabbed his arm and pointed toward the buried body of the prince, Zhao was helping him out of a pile of rocks which where surely part of Master Yu's first attack. "Zuko!" Toph bended the rocks away, which surprised Sokka and Zuko a lot, but there was no time to praise the girl, Zuko's leg was hurt and Master Yu was already over with the many guards around the place. "Admiral Zhao!"

"Peasant Boy? Good timing, help Prince Zuko to escape, the Blue Spirit is dangerous and mortal, we can't allow him to capture our prince!" It was a legend among the Fire Nation; a part of their folklore, a spirit wearing a blue mask would break havoc among the citizens and attack those whose lives are linked to royalty, serving a divine eminence into disposing of the imperialist order, in other words, he was a revel with liberalist perspectives. "Hurry up!"

"No! I vowed my loyalty to Prince Zuko, and I will fight for his welfare with my life!" Sokka took his sword out and left Zuko down Toph's care, Admiral Zhao was impressed by the kid's fighting will, but despite his bravery, he was only interfering, after all, Yu had his orders, and would kill if needed. "Master Yu! Stop this at once!" Now Zhao was surprised, no one but him and Long Feng were supposed to know about Yu's identity.

Zhao launched strong firebending attacks toward 'the Blue Spirit', Sokka just avoided Yu's attacks and slashed some rocks with his sword, which hurt his arms a lot, he wasn't used to fight an earthbender yet, he still was unable to defeat a firebender, much less the strongest earthbending master. Zuko stood up weakly, his leg wasn't broken, but it still hurt him a lot. "What are you doing?" Zuko began creating a fire sphere on his hands and aiming it at Yu.

"Zuko! You can't hurt him! He is Master Yu! He is our friend! You and he seem to be friends, and he speaks wonders of you! Are you really going to hurt him?" Zuko did nothing, he just aimed at Master Yu's body, the sphere on his hand was growing bigger and bigger. "Please Zuko, don't hurt him."

"But if I don't do that… Sokka will be in danger… you like him! Are you just going to stand there and allow him to die? You know how powerful Yu really is, do you think Sokka and Zhao have a chance?" Toph said nothing, she just searched on the vibrations, Yu was attacking Sokka, he was only attacking Sokka, he knew how important Sokka was to her, but he was still attacking him, suddenly, Long Feng's words began making sense, perhaps, Master Yu just cared about his position of power, she stood up with tears in her eyes and took her bending posture. "I won't fight unless you want me to, but… I won't forgive you if Sokka dies."

"He won't… he has a promise to keep… forgive me, Master Yu…" Zhao was tired, even though Yu wasn't attacking him, he was having a harder time than expected, he began wondering if his last fight with him was actually a victory, there was no doubt Yu was stronger than him. Sokka was left to fight alone as Zhao gasped for air, he didn't care for the kid, and if he died it wasn't his problem.

"Damn! I could have slashed him by now! But I don't want to!" Sokka kept dodging attacks, he was really skilled in the art of the sword, even for his young age, and that was what kept him alive, since Yu wasn't holding back, although he was nothing but a zombie with no common sense, just attacking what moved around, if Sokka stayed still, Yu did the same, of course Sokka wasn't aware of that. "Damn it! This better work!" He hid his sword and placed his fingers on position, Yu attacked him, he dodged and ran toward him, Yu used his earthbending to create a rock made sword on his right arm and slashed, Sokka dodged barely and he then attacked, hitting Yu's pressure point and paralyzing his arm, Sokka was glad it worked, but it only lasted a few seconds, Sokka was unable to block Yu's chi for long. "No way! I thought I had hit him correctly." Yu launched a boulder at Sokka, he wasn't fast enough to draw his sword and cut it, and so he was send flying toward the other side of the room.

"Sokka!" Both Toph and Zuko yelled in unison, Yu was finally able to notice the pair, he was ordered not to kill Zuko, but nothing stopped him from killing Toph, unfortunately, that wasn't part of Zhao's plan, he tried to stop Yu, but wasn't fast enough, instead, Zuko and Toph attacked him, with his earthbending Yu created an earth shield and prevented Zuko's attack, with his foot he stopped Toph's bending, neither of them was fast enough to react, Zuko hugged Toph protectively, Yu attacked, but suddenly, he stopped, his sword bended arm was now a few inches away from Toph's face, it was shaking.

"My… my… my princess? Toph?" Toph hugged Zuko hard, the prince of the Fire Nation took advantage of the situation, his hand began glowing with the power of his firebending, and as fast as he could, he slammed his fist on Yu's mask, unmasking Yu in the progress.

"I think that's enough." Zhao said that last to himself, and then yelled hard. "Blue Spirit! In the name of Fire Lord Ozai! I command you to surrender!" Yu's blank eyes returned to normal, he stood up weakly and dizzily, he tried to remember everything that had happened, but all he knew was Toph was greatly scared of him. "Prince Zuko! Finish him!"

He nodded, and pointed a new fireball at Yu's direction, the old master was still weak and was unable to think correctly, everything would be decided in that last attack, but Zuko never attacked Yu, instead, he adsorbed the sphere. "I won't… that would hurt Toph's feelings… and I wouldn't be able to live with that burden." Toph was surprised, she never expected Zuko to think that way. Sokka stood up weakly, he was wounded but was still alive, he was proud of Zuko's actions, but someone was prouder than him.

The sound of someone clapping invaded the almost empty room, Ozai and his group of generals had arrived to the palace just in time to witness how Zuko spared Yu's life. "Well done, Prince Zuko, I am proud of your actions; looking for the heir's of the Earth Kingdom throne welfare is truly something to be proud of… Admiral Zhao, it is you the one disappointing me, I left the capital down your care, and this is what happens?"

Zuko was glad and hurt to hear his father's words, in a way; he had praised him after sparing Yu's life, although Ozai had admitted he left the city down Zhao's care instead of his. "I apologize, my lord, I just looked forward my prince's actions and left the city to his superior leadership, I will gladly accept my punishment."

"Not this time, Zhao, your actions seem to have made my son stronger, strong enough as to care for the Earth Princess like this, I am glad… now, for this traitor…" Ozai glared at Yu who was just beginning to understand what was going on. "You tried to murder my son, that crime is punished with dead."

"No!" Toph ran toward Yu and hugged him, despite everything he had done, she still believed in her master. "Yu! Why did you try to hurt Zuko? I know I told you I didn't like him, but you didn't have to go that far! Just say you are sorry!"

"My princess… I have no idea of what is going on… but… apologizing isn't enough… I'm afraid I'm done for… forgive me my princess; I would do nothing to harm you." Toph hugged Yu, the old master hugged her back.

"Father… I want to be the one punishing Yu." Ozai nodded. "Your crime is one that can't be forgiven… but in honor of Earth Princess Toph Bei Fong, I won't be as hard as to take your life… instead, you will live… as a prisoner at our capital… you will never see the light of the day ever again." Perhaps Zuko was being hard, but he managed to save Yu's life and earn his father's respect in that last statement.

"A better punishment than dead, nice work, Zuko, as you commanded, it will be done, Zhao! Take him away!" Zhao made a reverence and nodded, Ozai left the room followed by Zuko who could barely walk, but before he left, he stared at Toph, whose eyes were filled with sadness.

"I'm sorry." He whispered and then followed Ozai out of the room, Sokka walked toward Toph weakly, a look full of pain was also drawn on his face, he placed a caring arm at her shoulder and waited for her reaction. Toph turned around and hugged Sokka, crying on his tunic hard, it wasn't a nice feeling, Toph was traumatized, she no longer knew what to believe, she could no longer smile, all she could do, was cry.


	7. The Blue Spirit

**Slavery Mark: Book One – Fire.**

**Chapter Seven: The Blue Spirit.**

* * *

"The legend of the Blue Spirit is a complex one, for many, he was a hero who fought the tyranny of the very first Fire Lord in times before Avatar Kuruk began the war, the Blue Spirit protected the weak and poor as an eternal vigilante. Hiding his identity behind the mask of a demon to intimidate his enemies and protect the weak, although now it isn't more than an urban legend, but many claim he was real and the leader of a secret organization of vigilantes for the Four Nations known as the Order of the White Lotus." Prince Zuko nodded in agreement, ever since Master Yu used the mask of the Blue Spirit to attack the Earth Princess, he had been interested in the legend of the Blue Spirit, and found it interesting the fact of it being Yu the one wearing that mask.

"So, it wasn't only a legend… but the Blue Spirit was a symbol of the Fire Nation, why would Master Yu disguise himself like him? And what about the original Blue Spirit, what happened to him, uncle?" Iroh stared at his nephew with interest, it wasn't normal for him to be concerned about the Blue Spirit at all, Zuko always thought the Blue Spirit was nothing but an urban legend, and now he wanted to know, the reason behind his concern was the Earth Princess who haven't said a word and barely interacted with anyone but Sokka ever since Yu was captured.

"Well, isn't it obvious? He died old and proud of his actions." Zuko said nothing; he just crossed his arms and waited for a real explanation. "The Blue Spirit always picked a successor before his retirement so his legend would never die, many had carried the unique mask of the Blue Spirit before, for generations, he protected the weak, until the day of his fall, it was a tragic ending for a living legend of the Fire Nation."

"You said his mask was unique, what makes it so special? It's just a mask, surely anyone can make a copy of it, Yu's mask wasn't the original one, was it?" Iroh moved his shoulders up and down and walked away, followed by his nephew who was still curious about this legend. "Who killed the last Blue Spirit? Who was him? To where I know, his legend continued for much longer… even I grew up with the stories of the Blue Spirit" Iroh closed his eyes hard and then faced Zuko. "What's wrong, uncle?"

"Prince Zuko… allow the memory of the Blue Spirit to rest alone, his legend was an inspiration for many in the past, these are different times, the Blue Spirit was a criminal, hunted for his ideals… and his end was a tragic one…" Zuko noticed the shattering tone of voice his uncle was using, and he feared the last Blue Spirit happened to be who he now thought he was. "…The one who ended the legend of the Blue Spirit was no one else but Zhao, and in order to keep the identity of the Blue Spirit in secret, once he killed him, he burned him so no one would recognize him… please leave now, Prince Zuko… I need to be alone."

"…Uncle…?" Iroh said nothing, he just walked toward the chimney on his room and sat in front of it, Zuko faced away, looking at his uncle being this hurt was painful, and so he closed the door after him and walked his way toward the green fields of the Fire Lord's palace where Sokka's training was taking place. Iroh stared at the flames of his chimney with a sad look forever drawn on his face, taking a deep breath he stood up and took the drawing of his long lost son on his hand.

"The last Blue Spirit died young… very young… Lu Ten, your actions will forever remain in the hearts of those you helped during the times of war, please protect my nephew… your cousin, from the shadow of the Blue Spirit, it can only bring harm and pain… Lu Ten, don't let Zuko transform into you… I wouldn't stand losing another son… Zuko isn't the hero our nation needs, you must understand it…" Iroh broke into tears while hugging the picture of his deceased son, wishing with his heart that Zuko wouldn't follow the path of the Blue Spirit.

* * *

"They surely are working hard… one could say they are mortal enemies." Zuko was amazed by what he was witnessing, Sokka and Ty Lee were having a sparing combat at the green fields of the Fire Lord's Palace, using their fingers as their only weapons, moving gracefully and avoiding the hits of the other and trying to strike and paralyze a pressure point, it was all part of Sokka's Chi Blocking Training, but in reality, Sokka just wanted to defeat Ty Lee.

"Sokka is truly growing as a warrior; even I would have a hard time avoiding Ty Lee's attacks. It is amazing how much no benders can actually improve." Azula was by Zuko's side, she was blushing madly since Sokka wasn't wearing his tunic and only his pants covered him, Zuko still found disgusting Azula's crush on Sokka, but it could be dangerous to confront his sister. "Anyway, Zuzu, perhaps you should take your training more seriously."

That last hit Zuko deeply, he had been immersed in deep thoughts ever since Yu attacked Toph, a protectionist feeling of responsibility toward the princess was consuming him, and now that his curiosity about the Blue Spirit was growing, he wished to be an heroic figure just like the Blue Spirit once was, be more warrior like, not just a spoiled prince, Sokka was far beyond his current abilities, and he was only a peasant, Zuko knew it.

"I'm… doing my best… uncle Iroh is training me, but… lately something had caught his attention, something about politics and stuff he never allows me to know…" Azula took a deep breath, she did care for her brother, but most of the time she thought it was a waste of time to do it. "You have it easy, Azula, you are trained all the time by Li and Lo, and they are great teachers despite being no benders."

"Those old hags are a bother, but I must admit they do know what they are saying, anyway, what's with your girlfriend, she hadn't said a thing since she arrived to our nation, she is always lost in thoughts, what's wrong with her?" Zuko was about to complain at Azula's calling Toph his girlfriend, but saying she was Sokka's girlfriend would place him and Toph in danger. "So, Zuzu? When is the wedding?"

For Azula, it was no secret Zuko had developed a small crush on the princess of the Earth Kingdom; she enjoyed teasing Zuko, especially since he had been trying to win Toph's attention lately with his poor firebending skills and he had been worried sick about her current shock state.

"There isn't and won't be any wedding, we aren't always in the best of terms you know… and quit calling me Zuzu! Besides, she already likes someone else." Toph ignored the talk and hugged her legs close to her chest, she was depressed, a month had passed by and she hadn't been able to forget the pain of losing her Master, she felt betrayed and wanted to be alone, but at the same time wanted comfort, Sokka had comforted her many times, but he alone wasn't enough, she needed something else. "Toph is having a hard time, Azula, she hasn't said a word since the incident, and she barely eats, she just sleeps all the time… she is sad… and uncle Iroh said she would need some time to ease her pain… I want to help her but… I think I will only end up worsening all up as usual."

Azula said nothing, she just took a deep breath once again annoyed by her brother's weakness, Zuko was a spoiled kid, and wasn't strong enough to take his firebending training seriously, that angered her, she did want to be stronger than her brother, but not having any competition was boring. "Look, Ty Lee is about to win this one."

Zuko stared at the pair sparing at the distance, Toph also did place her feet at the soft grass, barely searching in the vibrations, her mind was still distracted, but she did care for the sparing result. Sokka was sweating hard and was gasping for air, although his moves were as fierce and determined as always, Ty Lee wasn't tired in the less, not even a drop of sweat was seen on her face, she was playing with Sokka, forcing him to give her his best, and he did, unfortunately, it wasn't enough.

Their fingers collided as swords in the battle field, and then both pushed the other aside, winning some distance, Ty Lee smiled at Sokka and stuck her tongue out teasingly. "The dancing lesson is over sweetheart, now the real training begins." Ty Lee ran toward Sokka faster than ever, he could barely see her coming, if it wasn't because of his training with Piandao he would have been defeated by Ty Lee's attack, but thanks to those long hours sparing with Fat and Piandao himself, he was able to dodge the flying body of Ty Lee, but the girl used her hands as legs and won equilibrium, slamming her foot hard at Sokka's face. "Sorry honey, I'm more flexible than you think."

Sokka wasn't ready to give up; he placed himself in Chi Blocking posture once again and attacked Ty Lee, who dodged every attack easily. "Sokka is going to lose, as always he just trusts his arms when his legs are also a strong weapon… that's why he fails all the time, if he only used his legs to attack instead of dodging, he would be a better challenger." Azula was surprised by Zuko's analysis of the situation. Zuko had this knowledge thanks to his firebending training, he wasn't a prodigy as his sister, but was good enough to be a challenge in the subject, Chi Blocking found its source in firebending itself, and so, Zuko knew its weakness. "It's over… there is no way he can dodge."

Toph stood up, as if wanting to 'see' it all more carefully, for her, everything moved in slow motion, Sokka's feet where firmly placed on the ground, Ty Lee's ones weren't, but it wasn't needed, she was fast and flexible, Sokka wasn't, she pressed Sokka's chest softly, but at the right spot to paralyze his body, but even before she did that, Sokka had pressed one of Ty Lee's pressure points also, which was something Azula and Zuko couldn't see, the only ones noticing the hit were Sokka, Ty Lee, and her. Sokka fell to the ground and unable to move, the training was over.

"Nice try darling, but it wasn't enough." For some reason, Ty Lee was sweating hard and gasping for air; Sokka wanted to stand up but was unable due to his temporal paralysis. "I must admit, I never thought you would touch me, my arm hurts, you are so cruel." Ty Lee rubbed her paralyzed arm and tried to be strong enough as not to let her tears fall from her eyes, Sokka did hurt her in that last hit. "Today's training is over, my arm will take some time to heal… but you can stand up now."

"Ah! Chi Blocking does hurt… my bones are aching… it is really painful… thanks for the lesson, Sifu Ty Lee." Ty Lee made a reverence with her only useful arm, Toph helped Sokka up since his muscles weren't healed yet and the now Fire Nation peasant made a reverence barely. "It is hard to believe a girl defeats me daily in battle, but… I guess I deserve it for being sexist…"

"It's ok, you had a hard time asking me to become your Sifu, and I'm glad you did." Azula glared evilly at Ty Lee, the girl noticed the glare and cleared her throat, trying hard to hide the blush on her face. "Your technique is remarkable, you have memorized every single Chi point on the human body, but your movements are slow and wild, if you want to Master Chi blocking you must be flexible and use your legs as weapons, you can't always trust your arms, and legs are sexy after all." Sokka blushed at that last; Azula just threw a spark of fire toward Ty Lee, placing a line in the middle of her and Sokka. "Ah… well… yeah… you need flexibility…"

"Flexibility? But that's girly stuff, I don't want to go to the battle field being all girly and sassy, there must be another way." Sokka wasn't being rude, or at least that wasn't his intention, but Ty Lee did feel insulted somehow, fortunately, her crush on Sokka was enough for her to forgive him. "Isn't there a style of Chi Blocking that isn't that… girl-like?" Toph pushed Sokka aside, and without saying a word she placed her hands at her usual battle posture. "To… I mean, Princess Bei Fong?"

"So, we have a challenger, that's great! That posture must be the Hung Gar." Sokka was surprised to hear the name of the posture, indeed, Toph herself told him once she was working on her Hung Gar and her sarcasm, and he needed a Hung Gar Master. "Hung Gar against Chi Blocking, I will gladly play with you."

"Oh no you won't." Azula stood up and walked toward Ty Lee, pushing her aside and placing herself in battle position. "If someone is going to fight the Earth Princess, that is me, after all, we are both princesses, it is only natural we battle in search of cultures superiority." Toph was angered by that last, she closed her hands into fists and slammed her foot hard at the ground, Azula just smiled at the girl's actions and waited for Toph to do the first move, and so she did, she moved fast, faster than Ty Lee, toward Azula, and then attacked her face, but Azula had intercepted the hit. "So, you do know how to fight, this will be interesting." Now it was Azula's turn to attack, she kicked, Toph blocked with her Hung Gar, Azula punched and Toph blocked once again, moving carefully and mortally as a mantis, every move was in perfect synchrony with the other one, no unnecessary moves were made, Her Hung Gar was perfect, and Sokka was amazed to witness her abilities. "She… she… is stronger than me…?" Zuko stood up and watched at full detail how Toph blocked every attack Azula launched, Hung Gar isn't a dodging technique as Chi Blocking or Aikido, it is far beyond those arts, it is the perfect defensive and offensive technique. "How can you do it? No one beats me in battle! Not even Ty Lee!"

"Actually, that's because I fear you will burn me to ashes if I beat you." Ty Lee interrupted, but Azula wasn't placing any attention to her, and instead, was forcing the he3at in her body to intensify, which won Zuko's attention.

"Toph! Give up already! Don't anger my sister!" But Toph refused to listen, she was angry, not at Azula but at herself, she just wanted to release her anger, and Azula was her target. "Cut it off Toph!" But it was too late, Azula was angry, her next move wasn't just an attack, it was firebending, but Toph blocked it as well, hitting Azula's arm with her elbow and changing the direction of her firebending.

"Azula! What was that for?" Sokka yelled and ran toward both princesses alongside Zuko, but earth began shaking, Toph was also furious at Azula's actions. "…This isn't good…" Earth was bended as huge boulders at Azula's feet, but the Princess of the Fire Nation was able to dodge them.

"Come and get some." And with that, the sparing game turned into a bending war, the whole palace was trembling and Fire was thrown around the place, burning everything on its passé. "Give it up already!" But Toph never listened to Azula's warnings, she kept bending boulders at her, the more time the battle prolonged, the more devastating Toph's attacks were, Azula was having a hard time, but she wasn't ready to give up. "Fine, I was saving this for an important occasion, but you have earned it!" No more games, her flames went from orange to red and from red to blue; it was fire on its most dangerous form. "Are you afraid now?"

Sokka, Zuko and Ty Lee were, those colors of flames were unnatural. Toph was unable to see the colors due to her blindness but could feel the heat of their flames, still, she wasn't intimidated, on the contrary, it forced Toph to use her full bending power, now not only the palace was shaking, but the whole capital, it was power beyond any earthbender's imagination, a power only Toph possessed, a power Master Yu taught her to control. That power was intimidating Azula, but instead of disliking the feeling, she loved it, for Azula, nothing was better than defeating an opponent as powerful as the young Earth Princess.

"Enough!" Sokka stood in the middle of both girls, sword in hand and fingers prepared to strike, Azula found it interesting, she wanted to know the extension of Sokka's abilities as a warrior, but he wasn't an enemy, on the contrary, he was valuable for her, and so, her blue flaming hands returned to normal. "Toph! That's enough!"

Toph wanted to ignore him, she desperately needed this, she wanted to unleash all her power and get rid of the pain she was feeling, but she gave up, Sokka was finally able to awake her common sense. Toph sat down and hugged her legs once again, burying her face on her red tunic, not wanting anyone to see her current state. "The Earth Princess is amazing, having this much power should be intimidating, I can barely believe you are able to control it all, Master Yu must be a great teacher." Zuko covered Azula's mouth, but the 'dagger' was already stabbed hard against Toph's heart, the all mighty Earth Princess broke into tears.

"Azula! Look at what you have done!" Azula pushed Zuko aside angrily and walked away annoyed, Zuko stood up and cleaned his dirty tunic while facing his sister all the time; he was ashamed of the little care she had for Toph. "Forgive my sister, Princess Bei Fong, she…" Zuko said no more, Toph was now hugging Sokka hard, crying on his tunic while the peasant hugged her back, comforting her and rubbing her hair with care, Zuko was glad to know Sokka was this worried about Toph, but a huge part of him felt jealous.

"Hey… Zuko… you like the Earth Princess… don't you?" Zuko flinched and turned around; placing both hands on Ty Lee's mouth and shutting her up, fortunately, Ty Lee said that last low enough for Sokka not to notice.

"What are you talking about?" Zuko was yelling it all in whispers, he knew Toph had an extremely good ear, and if he wasn't careful, he surely would be discovered. "Why are you saying those kinds of things? The Earth Princess and I aren't friends at all, I can't like her! Besides, she likes Sokka!" Ty Lee blinked twice at that last; Zuko covered his mouth. That information was supposed to be a secret.

"Zuko?" The Prince of the Fire Nation flinched, he turned around and smiled like an idiot toward Sokka, who was now holding Toph's hand while she hugged his arm and buried her face in his tunic, Zuko couldn't help but feel his heart complaining at the view. "Uhmmm… Toph is tired, and I'm sure she wants to be alone… I will take her to her room; think you can stay out of danger for a while? Your leg hasn't healed yet, it worries me to leave you alone."

"It… It's ok, Sokka, take Toph to her room, I will be ok, I don't need you to bodyguard me all the time…" Sokka nodded and then faced his Sifu who made a reverence at him, Sokka made a reverence to her and then one to Zuko, Toph wasn't interested in reverences, she just hugged Sokka's arm closer to her, not wanting anyone to notice her weakness. "Re…rest well, Toph, and please be back to your usual self… it is hard to see you like this." Sokka smiled at Zuko, the prince's dislike over Toph seemed to be fading.

Sokka walked Toph back to the castle and left Zuko and Ty Lee alone, Zuko took a deep breath and was about to walk away when Ty Lee grabbed him by the collar and forced him to face her. "What do you mean the Earth Princess likes my Sokka?" Ty Lee was defensive toward her student, which wasn't a surprise for Zuko, he already knew she had a crush on Sokka, everyone knew. "You mean not only I have to defeat Azula but Princess Toph as well? That's unfair! I saw him first! Well, maybe I didn't saw him before Azula did but since the Earth Princess is blind I'm sure I saw him before she did."

"I know how you are feeling… I just found out I like Toph… but I always knew Sokka liked her… I can't just try to win her heart, I can't betray Sokka, he is my friend… also, Toph doesn't like me, she admitted it the day we fought Yu, and she thinks I'm boring and only care for politics." Ty Lee was about to joke about the subject but managed to fight the urge. "Sokka is so lucky, he has the admiration of anyone, Azula's, Toph's, even yours… well, actually, that isn't a surprise at all."

"How rude!" Zuko said nothing; he just sat down at the grass due to his depression. "But… I admire you, Sokka is your best friend, and he is a peasant, it is impossible for him to have a formal relationship with Princess Bei Fong, and still, you allow him to try… that's truly being a real friend." Zuko smiled, Ty Lee smiled back at him. "So, what about helping the Earth Princess out of her depression? That would make you, her, and Sokka happy."

"I wish I could help her out but, I'm afraid my help will only give her more harm… maybe it isn't a good idea, and if Sokka finds out, I'm doomed, he will be angry at me for hurting Toph's feelings and I won't be able to feel comfortable around Toph anymore if everything turns out the wrong way." Ty Lee smiled happily and began jumping up and down; Zuko gave her an emotionless stare. "What is there to be happy about my situation?"

"I will help you out! I'm Sokka's Sifu, he begged me to teach him Chi Blocking, he has no choice but obey my commands, I was planning to take advantage of him in the future, but since you need the help, I can speed up my plan and, tee-hee, keep him busy." Zuko blinked, Ty Lee just allowed an evil grin to appear on her face.

"That's such an evil plan coming from a sweet little girl like you… it is hard to believe you actually planned to take advantage of Sokka like that… but… with Sokka 'busy', I can try to help Toph out…" Ty Lee giggled happily and couldn't help but blush, Zuko wasn't at all sure of her plan but he did want to help Toph, and that meant taking Sokka out of the way.

* * *

Sokka helped Toph inside of her room and locked the door behind, he was a peasant, and although being a close friend of the royal family helped him move almost freely around the palace, he knew his silver crown didn't mean he could spend this much time with Toph, he was a peasant after all and shouldn't be interacting with royal family members foreign to the Fire Lord's family. "Will you be ok now?" Toph said nothing as usual; she just hugged Sokka even harder. "Toph, I need to go now, if someone finds out I'm spending this much time with you, well, I don't want to think about what will happen…"

Toph released Sokka slowly and then turned to give her back to him, which meant she was annoyed by Sokka's behavior, Sokka knew it but it was necessary for him to leave the room, unfortunately, Toph managed to get what she wanted as usual. Sokka scratched the back of his head and sat next to her in defeat, the blind girl was glad, but she never smiled for him. "I'm surely going to be in troubles… Toph… you still won't speak to me?"

Toph 'faced' Sokka with sadness, it wasn't like she didn't want to speak, she just couldn't. Sokka knew it was some kind of a trauma because of Yu's betrayal, but that trauma should have disappeared by now, not hearing Toph's voice anymore was killing him. "I know you miss him, and I know it hurts you… there is nothing worse than losing those you care for, I know, because I lost all I had when I became a slave." Toph lowered her face, Sokka flinched. "Ah! No! Don't be sad! I didn't mean becoming a slave at the Fire Nation, I meant… the day I… escaped with my mother… perhaps that was the worst decision I have ever made." Toph took Sokka's hand and rubbed it, Sokka just smiled.

"I know you can't speak but I think I know what you are trying to say… yes, I did meet you due to my escape, and I'm glad I did." Toph managed to smile for Sokka this time, but just for a few seconds before returning to her now usual cold self. "But I lost my father, and I miss my sister… even my mother is now a slave at the service of the Fire Lord, and she is always busy, and when she isn't, well… Zuko spends a lot of time with her… actually… I haven't seen her since I became Piandao's slave… but it's ok, if I happened to see my mother… it could be dangerous, now I'm a peasant thanks to this glove… if someone sees me around my mother, well… I would be discovered… it is hard… to be so close to my mother and be unable to speak with her…" Toph hugged Sokka once again, this time Sokka hugged her back strongly.

"What am I doing, Toph? I was supposed to cheer you up, and right now it is me the one crying." Toph moved her head in negation and placed both of her hands on Sokka's cheeks, forcing him to look at her and at the smile forming on her lips. "Don't fake your smiles, Toph, that won't cheer me up… if you want to make me happy, just speak once again, I don't care what you say, I just want to hear your voice… I miss it… just say something innocent and stupid as you used to."

Toph opened her mouth but nothing came out, she really wanted to, but she couldn't, and so she threw herself to her pillow and covered her face with it. "Don't be sad, it was wrong of me to ask you to speak… I'm sorry, ok? I shouldn't have… just promise me I will be the first one to know when you are finally able to speak again." Toph nodded after taking her face away from the pillow. "I need to go now, Toph… I need to train; I won't allow you to be stronger than me."

Toph punched Sokka's arm strongly, Sokka just rubbed his wounded skin. "Ouch! Watch it!" Toph giggled, although it was a silent laughter. "I miss that laugh too." Toph rolled her blind eyes. "Sorry, it's just hard not hearing you say something weird." Toph crossed her arms annoyed. "What? Hey, it is hard to read your emotions like this, I don't know what you are feeling unless you…" But now Sokka was as silent as Toph, she had kissed him, this kiss was different from the one they shared a month ago, it was deeper, although it still was just lip contact, an innocent kiss, but enough for Sokka to understand Toph's feelings perfectly.

He broke the kiss after a couple of seconds, it still felt weird, Toph was only ten years old, kissing her like this just felt forbidden. "Toph… don't do that… you are too young. I… I… I do like you a lot, but you should act like a girl your age… also, you are a princess, you know I can't return your feelings… not until I become a knight…" Toph rolled her eyes once again and crossed her arms in annoyance. "That surely was part of a sarcastic comment, too bad I missed it." She punched Sokka's arm hard once again. "Ouch! Ok! No more joking about your inability to speak! Just… recover as soon as possible, ok?" Toph nodded, Sokka smiled. "…Well… I need to go… just try to get some rest…"

And after that last was said, Sokka went out of the room and closed the door after him, once he was gone, Toph broke into tears and hugged her pillow, she was depressed, not only was she unable to speak or know about Yu's whereabouts, Sokka was depressed because of her, and she didn't like that

For the young age of ten, Toph was mature, mostly because of Yu's teachings, but now that Yu had betrayed her, she didn't know what to do, most of her life was lived following those teachings, her attitude, her likes and dislikes, her view of the world was all thanks to him, and now, nothing mattered to her, all her life turned out to be a fake, she was no longer sure of her identity, she needed Yu to guide her, and she didn't like that feeling.

She curled in her bed and hugged her pillow trying to find comfort on it, she was slowly falling asleep, but before she could, the door of her room being knocked woke her up. She ignored the knocking since she knew it wasn't Sokka's usual hitting style and tried to go back to her sleep, but the person at the other side of the door just refused to quit the knocking.

"Toph? It is me. Zuko… may I come in?" Toph rolled her eyes again, she was unable to speak, she was double handicapped, and still, everyone dared reminding her about her current state. Zuko made his way inside of the room, most for Toph's dislike. "Are you feeling better now?" She slapped her forehead in annoyance. "Right… you can't tell me… sorry… I just wanted to speak with you… I mean… I speak and you listen… no making fun implied." Toph blew her bangs of hair away from her face in annoyance and then she covered her head with her pillow.

"Yeah, I figured out you were going to try to ignore me." Toph felt a little hurt by that last but she really wasn't in the mood to hear Zuko's comments. "I will go straight to the point then… I want to help you out of your shock… so I'm planning on taking you to Master Yu." Toph's blind eyes were now wide open; she took a sitting position as fast as she could and placed a hand on Zuko's shoulder, asking him to continue. "What's with that reaction? He tried to kill you, I know he was your Master, but that doesn't mean you have to forgive him that easily."

Toph just pulled Zuko's tunic a couple of times for him to help her out, she wanted to meet Yu once again, she needed this, and Zuko knew it. "You must promise this will be our secret, Sokka mustn't know about this… or else… well… let's just say it could be dangerous… Sokka mustn't know… do I have your promise you will keep this a secret?" Toph thought about it for a few seconds, she knew there weren't secrets between her and Sokka, but she also knew Zuko was smart and that he had his reasons to keep secrets, and so, with a burning feeling of regret in her chest, she nodded. "Very well, right now Ty Lee must be convincing Sokka into a special training session, it is our chance… let's go…"

Zuko offered his hand to Toph, the blind girl couldn't see that last since her feet where on top of her bed, Zuko rolled his eyes and took her hand anyway, which normally would have angered Toph, although this time, she needed Zuko's help. "I need you to trust me this time… I'm doing this because I care for you and want to help… so please, just allow me to help you." Toph nodded, Zuko smiled, and with that, he drove Toph out of the room.

* * *

Sokka was making his way toward Piandao's mansion riding his Eel-Hound slowly around the streets of the Fire Nation capital, normally he enjoyed telling Eelen or Hawky, who was by his shoulder, about his day or speak about Toph, but not this time, the walk was done in silence, until arriving at the huge metal doors of the mansion, Sokka was about to make his way down Eelen's back when he noticed Ty Lee was by the door. "Sifu Ty Lee?"

"I love how that sounds." Ty Lee smiled, Sokka knew Ty Lee was his Sifu and knew he should respect her for her title, but today he just wasn't in the mood to speak with her, she was his Sifu, but also the girl who had a strong crush on him. "Where do you think you are going my young pupil?"

"Young pupil? I'm a year older than you." Ty Lee nodded, and without an explanation, she jumped on top of Eelen, most to the Eel-Hound's complain and Sokka's indifference at the situation. "…Sifu Ty Lee… I'm afraid I'm not in the mood for your jokes, I have shores, Master Piandao is a hard father you know."

"I'm sure he will understand if I take you out on a training trip, I know how to help you improve your Chi Blocking skills but you must follow my orders." Sokka thought about it for a second, he didn't trust Ty Lee's intentions, but like it or not, she was his Sifu, and anything she said was an order he needed to follow, and he was already used to be ordered around, after all, he was a slave. "Let's go then! To the beach!"

"The beach? Why do I have the feeling you are just playing around? Whatever… Eelen, to the beach we go." Eelen felt offended, the Eel-Hound was stubborn and didn't allow anyone to ride her but Sokka and Toph, Ty Lee's actions were an insult. "Just do it Eelen, I know you don't like being ridden by strangers, now, to the beach please." Eelen finally obeyed Sokka's command, and so. she made her way to the beach.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zuko and Toph were walking across the city, using the darkness of the night as a cover for their actions; both were wearing red cloaks to avoid being identified by the guards around the city. The Fire Nation Capital was a fortress, always ready for war despite being times of peace, and moving around was a dangerous task, especially since they were prince and princess, such action would be disrespectful toward the Fire Lord. "We are almost there, there is a guard, her name is Ming, she is a good friend of my uncle and always allows anyone to visit their relatives… but we must be careful, it won't be a long visit."

Toph nodded barely, Zuko looked around the place, they were close to the huge tower that was the Fire Nation's prison and Ming was waiting for them, being silent enough, Zuko grabbed Toph's hand and ran with her toward the entrance where Ming was waiting. "Nicely done prince Zuko… is she the girl you told me about?" Zuko nodded. "Hi sweetheart, are you ready to see your friend?" Toph faced away and hid herself inside of her cloak; Ming was hurt to see that last.

"I'm sorry, Ming, she trusts no one after what happened, can you take us inside?" Ming nodded and took Zuko's hand to lead him, she also offered her hand to Toph but the girl refused. "Come on Toph, she is a friend." Toph moved her head in negation; Zuko just pressed her hand strongly but caringly. "You have to trust me; I'm doing all this for your sake." Toph refused to take Ming's hand once again but allowed Zuko to hold her hand and drive her around, Zuko liked the feeling, but this was no time to think about his new born feelings, he needed to help Toph out first. "I will take care of her, Ming, lead the way."

Ming nodded, and then walked them both through the tower. Ming knew many of the guards who would allow her to help others into the tower, but many as General Poon, a hard tempered man who hated his prisoners, was against the idea of allowing family to interact with the 'monsters' he took care of at the prison. Avoiding him was hard since the old General hated Earth Kingdom people greatly and he would usually bully Yu around with insults and sometimes even physical aggression.

"Master Yu is a nice person, I feel sorry for him, the only prisoner at the Fire Nation capital from the Earth Kingdom. General Poon always insults him and intentionally forgets to feed him just because he thinks Fire Nation ones are superior to the Earth Kingdom ones, in other words, he is a racist. He left a few hours ago and won't be back until tomorrow, but Yu may be hungry, it is now when I visit him and feed him, but I'm sure you would like to do that in my place."

Ming then gave Toph a box with homemade food and smiled even though she knew Toph would be unable to see it, Toph stood there for a second, not making a move, but after a while she threw herself to Ming and hugged her before finally walking inside. Once she felt Yu's vibrations and knew the door was closed behind her, Toph fought her tears, Yu wasn't looking toward Toph's direction, he was resting at a corner and seemed to be asleep, until the aroma of homemade food woke him up. "Ah! Hippo-Cow steak? Ming, I will forever be in depth with you, such consideration toward a criminal is…" Yu froze there, in front of him wasn't Ming but Toph, the girl was sobbing silently and barely carrying the box with the home made food, her blind eyes were drowned in tears and her lips were shaking with anxiety. "My princess? Toph? What… what are you doing here?" Yu's voice was shattering with the surprise, Toph finally couldn't help herself, she allowed the box she was carrying to fall and then ran toward the metal bars, Yu was already waiting for her with his arms open and hugged her, Toph hugged him strongly as well, sobbing her pain on his dirty clothes. "Toph, my heart fills with joy just by seeing you; I have missed you, are you ok? How are things doing outside?"

Toph tried to speak, but nothing but a weak drowning sound came out, Yu raised an eyebrow at her and then placed a caring hand at her throat. "You can't speak? I see, I really did hurt you, and I'm terribly sorry Toph, it was never my intention to hurt you, I wasn't myself, I don't know what happened but there is no doubt I hurt the prince and tried to hurt you as well, I deserve to be behind this metal made bars." Toph moved her head in negation, she placed a hand at the metal made bars and crushed it, Yu was surprised by that last, Toph made her way inside and hugged Yu once again, this time there were no metal objects in the way. "How in the world did you…? Since when…? Bad girl! You kept it a secret from your master! You invented metalbending… I wonder if I can do it too."

Toph moved her head in negation, she would surely love to explain why he would never be able to metal bend but just couldn't. "Don't worry, I'm fine, I don't need an escape medium, I'm going to face my crimes."

Toph moved her head in negation and tried to pull Yu out of his imprisonment, but Yu refused. "Listen Toph, I'm old, this is nothing to me, I surely would love to see you grow up and become a great earthbender, but I have a crime to pay for… but there is something you need to know… listen to everything I have to say carefully." Toph nodded.

"Very well then… I still thing you are too young to know, but these are hard times and you must grow up fast to be able to face what is ahead for you… Long Feng isn't a person you can trust, and you must be careful around Zhao as well, they did something to my head, that's why I tried to hurt you… also, what Long Feng told you was true, you are engaged to Prince Zuko…" Toph felt like crying. "No, no, it isn't Zuko's fault, he doesn't know either, you can't blame him, I always told you he was a good hearted person and he is, it's not his fault to be a prince, as it isn't your fault to be a princess… besides, there are many ways to change that fate, they can't control you, when the time comes it will be you the one deciding." Toph nodded, Yu just smiled. "Become a strong earthbender Toph."

Toph smiled and waved her hand to Yu; the old master allowed Toph to leave his imprisonment and was amazed to witness Toph metalbending the bar she broke back as new. "Impressive… Toph, before you leave, I promise to be there whenever you need me." Toph nodded and left with a permanent smile on her face.

"How did it go? Are you ok now?" Toph nodded in agreement, Zuko was glad, so was Ming. "I'm so glad! So… can you… speak again?" Toph thought about it for a second. She coughed, it sounded normal, and so she nodded in agreement. "Well, say something." Toph moved her head in negation, although she still kept her smile. "Why not?" She pointed at her bracelet. "Oh… yeah… Sokka must be the first one to hear you… I will take you to his place but first I need to speak with Yu."

Zuko made his way inside, and then closed the door behind him. "Master Yu?" Zuko flinched, Master Yu was trying hard to reach the box with housemade food Toph left out, Yu felt really embarrassed by that last and went back to his usual self. "I will handle it to you, master."

"Well, thank you, I was starving." Yu opened the box and began eating the inside ignoring the chopsticks, surely Yu hadn't had a thing to eat in a while already. "How is your leg, Prince Zuko?" This time Yu used a more formal tone of voice. Zuko rubbed his leg and faced Yu.

"It's doing fine… listen, I saved your life back then, I think the less you can do is give me an explanation, what is going on, why attacking the princess?" Yu ended his food and placed the empty box away, he then made a reverence Fire Nation style as asking for Zuko to allow him to speak. "No need for formalities, you are a prisoner."

"Well, that is true, then again it is the proper way to address a noble… answering your question, Prince Zuko, I was brain watched to do what I did, I'm not sure how it happened, perhaps I was drugged, I'm not even sure who did this to me, the last I remember is I was by the docks, speaking with Admiral Zhao… then Long Feng attacked me, and then… nothing… just a light hitting my face from time to time, the last I knew was I had hurt you and many royal guards and that I almost took Toph's life." Zuko wasn't convinced; he glared at Yu with hatred and annoyance.

"I'm not buying that one Yu." Master Yu said nothing; he just stayed there in silence. "You disguised yourself as the Blue Spirit, you corrupted his legend, why using the symbol of a nation in a terrorist attack? Why destroying the Blue Spirit's legend?"

"The Blue Spirit, a protector of the innocents, I knew his legend perfectly young prince… when I was captured, Ming allowed me to keep the mask, she said it was hard to believe someone would use the mask of the Blue Spirit to kill the Earth Princess… I told her I would never destroy a legend, I knew nothing about what I was doing, but I know Zhao would gladly destroy the legend of the Blue Spirit, after all, he killed the last one." Zuko already knew that, it was his uncle the one telling him the tale. "I was captured wearing this mask, what a pity, destroying the Blue Spirit's reputation when he is needed the most."

"What do you mean? The Blue Spirit was a hero, but his legend still exists in the hearts of many, he isn't needed anymore, we have peace." Yu gave the mask to Zuko, the prince stared at it for a while, admiring the real mask of the great hero of his childhood, now he understood why the mask was unique, it felt alive, as if the soul of the many who wore it was living inside of it. "The Blue Spirit was a great hero… but he isn't needed anymore."

"Are you sure? Open your eyes, Prince Zuko, slaves are bullied around your streets, people lives with fear of a terrorist attack or the war to explode, many murderers are running freely around the nation, poor people are dying while the few rich ones are throwing their money away, polluted rivers are spreading illness and death around your nation, it is now when the Blue Spirit is needed, the question is… who will claim the mask of the Blue Spirit?" Zuko stared at the mask for a while, he knew no nation was safe from the shadow of crime, but he also knew these were times of peace, and there was no need for the Blue Spirit. "If you truly care for the fate of your nation, you will find a new Blue Spirit."

"What do you know? You are a criminal, you don't deserve this mask, I won't allow you to destroy the memory of the Blue Spirit." And with that last said, Zuko left the room, slamming the metal made door closed after him, Toph was there waiting for him as well as Ming, both had worry looks drawn on their faces, Zuko was angry, for Ming it was evident in his eyes, Toph knew it for different reasons, she could feel it on his vibrations. "Ming… please do me a favor and walk Toph back to Piandao's mansion… there is something I need to find out… forgive me Toph, this is as far as I can help you… I really need to find some answers."

Toph said nothing as usual, Zuko just walked away, never minding to be spotted by the guards since around this time all of them were drunk, which was a disgusting knowledge for Zuko. The young prince of the Fire Nation had always been proud of his nation, the culture, the history, and the way of life, but since he was a prince, he was always forced to see the good things, what about reality? For once, he wanted to find it out.

* * *

Sokka just arrived at home after a not so special training session with Ty Lee; his Sifu had the weird idea of sharing a strange dance at the beach with him for his legs to be more useful. At first Sokka thought perhaps Ty Lee was right and dancing would help him out, but once Ty Lee began being so weird intentioned against Sokka, he refused to continue, despite Ty Lee being his Sifu.

By now, Sokka's legs were aching and he could barely walk, Ty Lee's idea of dancing was a hell of an exercise, perhaps it did help to improve Sokka's flexibility, but there was no way he would do it again. With weak moves he placed Eelen inside of the barn and helped the already sleeping hawk into his bird's cage, once that was done, he walked back to the mansion, Piandao wasn't home, he probably was on another of his meetings, it was late, but since Sokka was a slave, his shores came first.

Washing the dishes and clothes, cleaning the armory, feeding Piandao's pets, looking for water by the nearest river, and preparing the training instruments for tomorrow's sword sparing match with his master. Being a slave, a peasant, a bodyguard, a close friend to the royal family and an aspiring knight, all at the same time, was really hard. But Sokka was very well built thanks to all his responsibilities. Now that his shores were over, he could finally have some sleep, but the door being knocked strongly interrupted him, there was no way he could ignore the damn door, it was his responsibility.

Once he reached the door he opened it without even asking for the identity of the one at the other side, he was a peasant, speaking to a royal family member wasn't allowed if the royal one didn't ask first. But once he opened the door, he saw that smile he loved so much. "…Sokka…" It took Sokka a couple of minutes to understand what had just happened, he cleaned his ears and stared at Toph once again, the girl giggled, but it was no longer a silent giggling, it was real.

"You talked?" Toph nodded, Sokka hugged her hard due to his happiness. "No way! But how? I thought you… who…? When…? I… whatever, I'm so glad! But, Toph, I knew I told you I wanted to be the first one knowing… but it's late, you should be at the palace now." Toph pushed Sokka aside and walked inside of Piandao's place. "Toph, I'm serious, I could get in troubles, I'm a peasant."

"Don't be such a worry worm." That hurt Sokka, but he still was glad to know Toph was able to speak once again. "Before Yu was captured and blamed to be a criminal, I had no idea of who I really was, I always followed his teachings, and behaved the way he told me to, sure, I also had my attitude, but now it is about time I start behaving as the real Toph Bei Fong, not as the girl Yu, my Father, or everyone wants me to be… Yu told me once I had to grow up fast… and I'm already working on it."

"Well, that's nice and all but Toph, you are forgetting something important, you are a princess, you are supposed to behave as one." Toph nodded, but then 'faced' Sokka; the Water Tribe slave flinched, never before had he seen Toph this determinate.

"I want you to understand I don't want to hurt you with my words, but you will have to get used." Sokka nodded. "You are a slave, and even though not many know, you are supposed to behave as one, but you don't, you are going farther, you are not happy with being a slave, so you hide your identity and act peasant like all the time, sure, you have your reasons, I also have mine… I refuse to be just another wealthy family member; I want to be a warrior, the greatest earthbender in history, not a little princess. Before my mother passed away because of an illness similar to the one hitting my father right now, she told me many stories about Avatar Kyoshi, that's the way of life I want, living to fight, to protect, to improve… just like you."

"But Toph, you are a princess and an only daughter, you are supposed to rule your kingdom, I know you don't like it but you are from royalty." Sokka always knew their relationship wasn't supposed to last, so did Toph, that's why she refused to be just another princess. "You aren't actually thinking about giving up your royal status, Toph, that's insane!"

"I'm still not sure, much is expected from me, they want me to marry Prince Zuko." Sokka's jaw dropped, he sort of guessed it himself, especially after knowing Toph was moving to the Fire Nation, but hearing it from Toph was heart breaking. "I refuse… I won't allow my father to control my actions, when my marriage age arrives, it will be me the one deciding what to do and who to marry, not him, he can't force me."

"…But he can… it is all about politics… you have no choice, I knew this would happen sooner or later, it was wrong of me to think otherwise… it is hard… to know your best friend will marry the girl you like, it really hurts…" Toph punched Sokka's arm hard, the boy complained, it was usual to have her hitting him, but never this hard. "Toph! Face it! You are from royalty! I'm a slave! It isn't possible!"

"I don't care! I'm not allowing anyone to tell me what to do, we made a promise five years ago, and I'm still going to keep it, so are you… unless you had changed your mind…" Toph crossed her arms in annoyance; Sokka just placed a caring arm at her back. "I'm just a kid, I know, but that doesn't mean I can't be serious also… you were serious too, weren't you?"

"Toph… we are just kids…" Toph nodded. "There is nothing I wouldn't do to keep my promise, but, it isn't me the one who can change your fate, and I'm afraid to say, it isn't you either… but if you want to… I will keep trying." Toph smiled, Sokka returned the smile.

"You know what happens when a princess disappears?" Sokka moved his head in negation, which surprised Toph, thanks to Piandao, Sokka was a wise person, but apparently not in politics. "The closest advisor is the one claiming the throne as temporary Earth King until the kingdom decides between a new government, or a new ruler, most of the time that ruler is the King's closest advisor… better known as Long Feng."

"That name, I have heard it before… but I don't remember where…" Toph gave it no real importance, she just walked toward Sokka and took his hand, Sokka was surprised by that last, Toph was still determined and strong, but had no intention about denying her feelings for Sokka, or at least hide them, that surely would be a problem in the future, but for now, he was enjoying it. "What are you planning Toph?"

"If everything turns for the worst… I will run away, escape from these duties and royal responsibilities until Long Feng claims the throne, sure, I will hurt my father, but if I need to hurt him in order to live my life the way I want to, then I will… you will escape with me, right?" Sokka nodded, Toph was glad for that last.

"Let's just hope you never end up doing that… I will become a knight, and find the way to erase this scar, even if it means cutting my hand off." Toph moved her head in negation, horrified by Sokka's idea. "Ok, maybe not cut my hand off, but I heard there are some herbs than can cure long made burns, once I have done that, I will ask for your hand in marriage… it will take some time."

"Hey, we are kids; we have plenty of time… although, we should be thinking about hide and seek or playing around instead of marriage… Yu was right, these are hard times, I was forced to grow up… just like you were… I never understood it at all, not until now… fine, I have to go back to the castle, have a long talk with Zuko, nothing about the marriage, he is probably mad at me because I refused to speak to him until speaking with you first." Sokka nodded, but before Toph walked away, he grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him, giving her a small peek on her lips. "Sokka!"

"What? You are my bride." Toph blushed, although it still wasn't a real kiss, just minor lip contact. "I will… see you around." Toph nodded, but before leaving, she punched Sokka hard. "Ouch! Ok, fine, I will take my distance, quit hitting me already!"

"Get used to it you jerk!" Sokka was offended, but he knew this time it was the real Toph Bei Fong, not the little princess she thought she was. "If you give up on me I will earthbend your butt back to the Water Tribe in no time!" Sokka laughed at Toph before closing the door, Toph scratched her hair furiously, she was doing it again. "Don't let him soften you up girl! You are strong! Show some spine! He is a jerk! Too bad I promised to marry him!"

* * *

Not too far from where Toph was, Zuko walked by the streets of the Fire Nation Capital, hiding himself with his cloak and with the mask of the Blue Spirit in hand, an emotionless look was drawn on his face. He was unsure of his own identity now, for many years his nation was his life, he respected it, and loved it.

Zuko always had a good education about his culture, for example, he knew the difference between slaves and servants perfectly, a slave was born to serve, a servant was paid for the same, he thought it was quiet normal, he have had them both to serve him, and till now, Sokka was the only exception to the rule of service, what about the rest of the slaves? They weren't paid to do what they do; they are just feed eventually to keep them alive.

Iroh told him many times not to walk near the slave merchants, at least not alone, but tonight, he was planning to witness firsthand the way slaves lived and was walking toward shore, where the slaves are sold, but even before arriving there, he witnessed the poor conditions of his father's government, near the palace, it was all wealth and commodities, but as closer he was from shore, the worst conditions of the habitants of his nation were found, and this was the capital, where the best living conditions are found.

It hurt him to see the reality, slaves walking around the streets in silence with a rope tied to their necks and being pulled by their masters, drunk soldiers taking advantage of the less wealthy ones and stealing their goods claiming they were war founds even when there was no war at all, people begging for the merchants to sell something to them since they had no money to feed their families, kids in deplorable conditions of life.

It was horrible, and it was about to get worse, many old people were laying at the alleys, many wine bottles around them, drunk soldiers taking advantage of their slaves and trying to seduce them, Zuko decided to look away, that was surely something he didn't want to know, kids arguing to spend the night inside of an empty box and people going as far as mortally wounding others to steal the little they had.

He finally made it to the slave merchants, it was no better than the conditions of the city, at shore, slaves were rudely pushed inside of the salty water to clean their dirty bodies out of the blood of the many whipping they had suffered. Zuko was unable to understand it, many slaves were young and strong, that wasn't possible, five years ago, the last group of slaves from the Water Tribe arrived, those were the last ones, only the old and weak ones weren't sold, Zuko thought that was what he was going to find at shore, old slaves, begging for someone to buy them so they could be feed. "These slaves… they are… new ones… but… slavery was supposed to be over, no more new slaves, just the current ones."

Zuko noticed the red flags of the new slave selling ships, a Sea-Raven was their insignia, the Southern Raiders, a group of elite mercenaries who were one of the little attack forces the Fire Nation send to aid the Earth Kingdom during the war against the Water Tribe. Zuko was enraged by that last, the Southern Raiders were the strongest invasion force of the Fire Nation, and now, they were nothing more than a bunch of criminals who kidnapped people around the four nations.

Zuko was able to see it, some slaves were monks from the Air Nomads civilization, some were Water Tribe fishermen from the Northern Water Tribe, even Earth Kingdom civilians were captured, Zuko knew none of the captured ones was a bender; no slave was ever a bender since it was troublesome.

It was sick, many were the slaves arriving, but one won his attention, a young teen, perhaps a year older than Zuko, who was fighting his ropes and trying to free himself from his captors, asking a group of slaves to fight back, just to end up badly punished by the Southern Raiders. "That guy… he isn't that much older than me… and he is a slave… if I wasn't born a prince… perhaps I would be in his place… it isn't fair, did Sokka suffer this much?"

"Jet!" A tomboyish looking girl broke into tears once she saw her friend being placed on the cold sand, his hand was being prepared for the horrible punishment, a Southern Raider was now holding the Slavery Mark, the emblem of the Fire Nation, nothing more than a symbol of slavery, Zuko had enough, it was about time to change the meaning of that mark.

Zuko ran toward the beach, throwing his cloak away as well as his royal armor, burning it with his firebending once he got rid of it, now he was wearing nothing more than a black suit, and the mask of the Blue Spirit, he took out a couple of dual Dao Blades, a present form Iroh he carries around all the time, he never thought he would ever use them, although he did train himself to learn their potential.

Before the Slavery Mark could be pressed against the young Earth Kingdom slave, Zuko arrived, and he slashed the mark and kicked it toward the Southern Raider's face, burning his face with the mark of slavery, the yell of pain and agony from their comrade alerted the rest of the raiders, Zuko moved as fast as he could, he slashed the ropes from Jet's neck and arms as well as those from the tomboyish girl. "The Blue Spirit! He is alive!"

"…Blue Spirit…?" Jet hugged the tomboyish girl protectively while staring at the Blue Spirit who placed himself into battle position and ran toward the Southern Raiders, evading their firebending attacks and never using his own, Zuko knew he wasn't skilled enough to defeat anyone at firebending, but as a sword wielder, he had enough ability to be triumphant, after all, he and Sokka had spared many times before, the difference was, this time he was using no wooden made sword.

No matter how skilled Zuko was, no swordsman would survive a fight against the whole Southern Raider's army, he knew it, but there was no way he could stay arms crossed when people were suffering, he was now the Blue Spirit, a vigilante, a protector of the weak, and a punisher for those who claimed a fake authority. "The Blue Spirit is back!"

* * *

Massive sparks of light were seen at the distance, the capital died in an eternal silence, a silence deeper than the one of the night, fire; it was easily seen at shore. Many drunk soldiers tried to run to action, but they were too tired and dizzy to do a thing, chaos was then spread, citizens began yelling hard in fear, ships suddenly exploded at shore, and slaves were running free through the capital, breaking havoc around the place, some fought the citizens and rob them from their possessions, others like the Air Nomad monks asked for asylum or asked to be captured since they never believed in violence.

Everything was chaos, the name of the Blue Spirit was heard by many, the great criminal who opposed the Fire Lord some years ago was back and was freeing the slaves, fighting the Southern Raiders, and claiming to be back to stay, finally the yells reached the ears of Sokka, he woke up annoyed, and the first thing he saw was fire at shore.

He never gave it second thoughts, Piandao wasn't back from his meeting yet, and he knew the soldiers around the city were weaklings, not to mention the royal guard would take a few hours to reach the beach. And so, Sokka took his sword in hand and ran in search of Eelen and Hawky.

* * *

Zuko did a great job fighting against the Southern Raiders, but if it wasn't for Jet, and a group of slaves who helped him out, surely the return of the Blue Spirit would have ended in tragedy, there were still many he needed to defeat, he could barely believe how he, a 14 years old boy, managed to defeat several mercenaries easily without even using his firebending. He wasn't tired either; he was driven by hate and anger against the nation he loved so much, against the cruel mercenaries selling innocents as slaves, at himself for allowing this to happen.

Southern Raiders came, and he defeated them all, he was unsure of why was it so easy, perhaps the mask did have the soul of the many previous Blue Spirits inside, perhaps it was a dormant instinct he was just discovering he had, perhaps it was his training with Sokka, or perhaps the innocent wish to restore the heart of his nation, he would never know, but he felt powerful and able to do anything.

Jet stayed by his side, fighting the Southern Raiders with a couple of metal made bars, the tomboyish girl did nothing, she just stared at Jet, at the Blue Spirit, at the little group of fighters at the battlefield searching for their freedom, all of them with a huge hatred toward the Fire Nation soldiers. What she found curious was the difference between Jet's and the Blue Spirit's fighting styles, Jet wasn't afraid to hurt his enemies mortally, and he was wielding a couple of metal bars, in the other hand, the Blue Spirit, who was using swords, was different, he had no assassin instinct, he just slashed the proper zone to immobilize his enemy.

The battle continued until a hawk flew from nowhere and scratched the Blue Spirit's arm, Zuko faced the hawk and then at the owner, it was Sokka, with his furious Eel-Hound, he ran to the battlefield and knocked various slaves out. Zuko was confused, Sokka was a slave, and he just attacked several of them and was helping the Southern Raiders, it made no sense. That was until that black blade slashed the air close to him, Zuko barely avoided the attack. "Blue Spirit? A hero of the Fire Nation, what is the meaning of all this?"

"You may never understand!" And so it began, what once was a sparing contest between a couple of friends was now a mortal battle between two strangers, one, was the supposed hero of the Fire Nation, the great Blue Spirit who would give his life for his nation, the other one was a Water Tribe slave who managed to fool the whole Fire Nation into believing he was the son of a noble, and now claimed the Fire Nation as his own. "Why? These people are slaving innocents! Why are you helping them?"

"Slavery is horrible, I know it! But freeing the slaves isn't the proper way to stop it! If you know what is best for these people you will leave them alone!" Zuko moved his head in negation, this was the real face of the person he called a friend, this was the real Sokka, a warrior who cared about nothing more than the nation he was supposed to protect, a slave who now serves the Fire Nation with his heart, a few hours ago, Zuko would have been proud, but now that he knew the real Fire Nation, he wasn't, he pitied Sokka. "Why giving your back to your nation, Mr. Hero?"

"I'm not giving my back to it! I'm trying to save it!" Zuko finally fought Sokka back, he had the upper hand since he used dual swords, but Sokka was more skilled than Zuko, the battle surely would last long. "Can't you see it? Slaves from the Northern Water Tribe, the Earth Kingdom, even monks from the Air Temples! It's like asking for war to start!"

Sokka looked at the many slaves around the place; sure, they all were from different cultures, some were even familiar faces, fishermen from the north that would often share their food with the brother pole, but now Sokka was Fire Nation, at least until his mark was discovered. "I will protect… my nation… I made a promise to a good friend, I promised I would be his knight, his servant, one day that person will claim the throne of the Fire Nation, and when he does, slavery will be over, I trust that person, and until that day arrives, I will protect his nation!"

Zuko was amazed; this wasn't because of a warrior's pride as he first thought it was, Sokka did trust the Fire Nation, even after being sold as a slave, after serving their people, after seeing his family and friends suffering as slaves. Sokka wanted to save this nation as well, a nation he now called home, and he trusted in Zuko to save it, but waiting for him to become the Fire Lord was a long wait, Zuko had to change it all from now and on. "Forgive me!" Zuko slashed Sokka's chest, it was easy considering he had two swords and Sokka had one, but Sokka managed to hit Zuko as well, not with his sword, but with his Chi Blocking, paralyzing one of the Blue Spirit's arms, and in consequence, forcing him to lose a sword.

What came next was something Zuko never expected to happen, Sokka kicked Zuko's face, it was an incredible move, while he kicked Zuko's face he took the sword Zuko lost up and now it was him the one with two swords, not to mention Zuko had an arm paralyzed. The Blue spirit had lost this round, but not the battle, while Sokka was distracted, Jet and a group of slaves managed to escape, many were captured as well, but at least he managed to save a good number of them, it was time to flee.

The Blue Spirit kicked sand toward Sokka's face and ran away, Sokka recovered fast and ran after him, unfortunately, he was tired after the dance session with Ty Lee, although that did help him be more flexible and managed to evade many Southern Raiders. Sokka followed Zuko through the city, swords in hand and ready to immobilize the Blue Spirit, but the demonical like hero was faster than Sokka, and wasn't as tired as him, with an incredible jump Zuko never thought was possible, not even if his legs were fully healed, he climbed the roof of a nearby store and kept jumping from a building to the other one, but Sokka was way more skilled than the Blue Spirit, he needed no speed, just trust in his Water Tribe abilities.

Sokka threw the Blue Spirit's sword as if it was a boomerang and slashed his leg, it was only a scratch, but that and the aching feeling of Zuko's weak legs were enough to bring him down. The spirit fell and ended up inside of an alley, where many poor citizens ran away from him, Sokka ran into the alley and placed his sword at the spirit's neck, his mask was off by the fall, and he was barely conscious. "Zuko? You… you are the Blue Spirit?"

"…Such a great Blue Spirit I turned out to be, my first day as him and I am unmasked… you are better than I thought you were, Sokka…" Both friends stayed there, unable to make a move, one was shocked, his prince, the one he swore loyalty to, was hurt and laying on the floor, while outside of the alley, everything was chaos.

The other one, a hurt Fire Nation prince who seemed to have betrayed the one who swore loyalty to him, he couldn't even face Sokka, he could just stay there and wait for the guards to come, but once they arrived, Sokka took the Blue Spirit's mask and swords and hid them around the black cloak he wore and asked Hawky, who was always close to Sokka, to fly away with them. The royal guards arrived late to notice Sokka's actions. "Quick! The Prince is badly injured! He battled the Blue spirit and was mortally injured, he needs help!"

The royal guards took care of Zuko's wounds, but Sokka was taken prisoner, the royal guards knew nothing about what was going on, Sokka was now nothing more than a suspect, ropes were tied around his hands and legs, and he was knocked unconscious, Zuko was left speechless, he had just betrayed Sokka, and the Water Tribe slave, as a loyal servant to his prince, lied to the guards about what had happened, just to save him from being accused of treason. Zuko took the dark blade up, and stared at his guards with fury, the nation he always loved, the nation he was supposed to rule, was nothing but a cruel imperialist territory. "I swear… in the name of the Blue Spirit, that I won't rest… until the Fire Nation is free from this cruelty and pain…"

* * *

Far away from where everything was taking place, a couple of figures were aware of the situation, one was the Avatar who continuously stared at the body of Sokka reflected on his Airbended made sphere, and saw him being carried away unconscious, the other one was Yún, the young granddaughter of the avatar, she felt sick and weak, her people grew up with the knowledge of peace and harmony, witnessing these events was hard and horrible for her. "Such violence between brothers, people selling others… people hurting brothers and sisters, how can people be so cruel?"

"It is in their nature, they are wild and look for peace by war and killing innocents, that's what the spirits are angered about." Aang, the wise Avatar, stood up and walked to his granddaughter, hugging her and comforting her, trying to help her endure the pain of her innocent heart that knew no violence. "Many spirits still believe in humans, as Tui and La at the Northern Water tribe, Agni, the spirit of war and equilibrium, Mother Earth, even after been wounded by the hand of humans… the Blue Spirit, the essence of humanity, now that spirit is helping Zuko to save his nation, but the young prince is weak, he can't do this alone, many will have to pay a high price before the prince is ready to save or destroy his nation."

The sphere showed various images, first, the view of Zuko carrying the dark blade of Sokka and kneeling in front of his father, Fire Lord Ozai, then one of Sokka being thrown inside of the capital's prison, another of Toph, locked in her room and practicing her metalbending, then Jet and his group of slaves hiding at the capital of the Fire Nation, and finally, a couple of blue and empty blue eyes appeared inside of the sphere, the Princess of the Southern Water Tribe, Katara. "But grandfather Aang! If you know what will happen before it does, why not helping these chosen ones toward the right path? Why waiting and see if everything will be solved on its own when everything seems to be crumbling? The lost prince of the Water Tribe is there! Help him back to his tribe; you know Long Feng and Zhao are killing the Earth King! You know the spirits are angry at humans… help them!" Yún broke into tears, but the Avatar moved his head in negation.

"When the time comes, I will try to save this world, until then the spirits most place their remaining hopes on the chosen ones… and you, Yún, you will keep looking at destiny at this chamber with me, until you are finally ready to help… although your real role won't be known until a few years had passed by." The airbended sphere disappeared and with it did Avatar Aang, Yùn had enough, she fell to her knees, sobbing and yelling, she had a pure heart and wanted to help, but she was nothing more than a witness.


	8. Civil War, Part One

**Slavery Mark: Book One – Fire.**

**Chapter Eight: Civil War, Part One.**

* * *

And so it began, thanks to the intervention of the Blue Spirit, what once was a peaceful capital was transformed into a battlefield. For more than a week the army had been mobilized around the city, searching for the group of self-proclaimed Freedom Fighters who had been freeing slaves and destroying the Fire Nation ships. For prince Zuko it was an awful view, but at the same time it was the beginning of a new future for his nation.

Hiding inside of a red cloak, Prince Zuko ran from the top of a building to another one due to his incredible new found skills. Witnessing firsthand what he had unleashed. Slaves were seen running around the evening streets, fighting the army and stealing war supplies, there was an almost equal amount of slaves and citizens at the Fire Nation capital, which made this civil war bigger than what he could have expected. Still, it was a one sided battle since no slave was a bender. "If I don't find that mask these slaves will have no leader and this rebellion will be over before starting for real… Sokka, how much longer are you going to avoid me?"

Zuko kept jumping his way until reaching the prison, as usual, there was no one guarding it but Ming, who kindly allowed Zuko inside, after all, everyone was busy trying to stop the rebellion. Sokka was giving his back to him while being trapped inside of a stone made room with many metal bars cutting his way toward freedom. "Every night, I hear the yells of many innocent people… and see the light of fire shinning from the window… just what have you unleashed, Zuko?"

"At least you are talking to me now, Sokka." The Water Tribe slave never directed his look toward Zuko, the Fire Nation prince just walked toward his best friend's imprisonment and placed a box with food inside. "When are you going to forgive me? I know I failed you, for five years you have been my loyal servant, and now… I'm sorry, Sokka…"

"…Don't be… it may not look like Zuko, but I'm not mad at you… I'm just a little confused…" Zuko nodded and sat down next to Sokka, although those metal-made bars were still on the way. "I fought for your nation… because I thought that was what I was supposed to do… I'm loyal to you and Azula after all… what I don't understand is… why did you betray me?"

"Hey, it's not my fault you wanted to play the hero." Sokka nodded, Zuko took a deep breath and faced away. "…I am ashamed… I always thought my nation was everything to me, I loved it and swore to rule it properly… but I can't, not when knowing my nation is sick and false to its ideals… a rebellion exploded, but it is for the best, the citizens are already discovering the true nature of this nation… I will join the rebellion, and I will bring an end to this tyranny."

"And you will get yourself killed." Zuko said nothing; Sokka just stood up and stared at Zuko directly. "I can't allow it… if it is necessary, I will reveal my slavery status and lead the rebellion; I will do it following your ideals, so even if I die, you will be safe." Zuko stood up and stared directly at Sokka, the once Water Tribe slave showed his gloved hand to Zuko. "When they caught me, they took everything from me but I managed to save my glove and my crown, no one knows I'm a slave, but for your safety… I will reveal myself and…"

"Stop it Sokka…" There was an awkward silence between the two friends, but it was a comfortable one, specially when looking at Zuko's face, full with anxiety and concern, but with a warm smile on his face. "Your loyalty is unbelievable, that's why I'm planning to free you soon." Sokka was surprised to hear that last, he wanted to complain, but Zuko stopped him. "I need you to trust me one last time, Sokka… you are no longer safe on the Fire Nation, and I'm planning to take this war to a whole new level… maybe one day… when I become the ruler of this nation, you will be able to come back, but for now… just allow me to give your freedom back to you."

* * *

Kaya stared out of the window of the Fire Nation palace, her eyes reflected fear and pain, a war had just exploded between slaves and Fire Nation soldiers, many fires were visible around the damaged capital, and the sound of explosions from the firebending attacks were easily heard. "Not again… why is this world forced to live behind the shadow of war? This is… ught!" She fell to her knees and began complaining of a pain in her chest; Piandao was there by her side and witnessing it all. "…My son is in jail… and slaves are being killed… I don't want Sokka to be involved!"

"You won't have to worry about it for long, my queen." Piandao helped her up and walked her toward the coach, she looked horribly weak and about to collapse, so Piandao held her close to him until arriving to the coach. "It is worse than what we all imagined, the Fire Nation is already falling down the shadow of war, at this rate the Fire Lord will have no choice but release the army he had secretly created… if that happens, the Water Tribe will probably find out they had been working to build an army, and war will once again explode."

"With a weakened Fire Nation… and a Water Tribe with no army… a war would only bring the destruction of both cultures…" Piandao nodded at Kaya's weak words, the woman was sweating hard and was barely able to breathe, this much tension was forcing her illness to consume her body. "What can I do… how can I stop this from happening?"

"Unfortunately, my queen, there is nothing you can do… that heart which was born weak is already at its limits… and there is nothing you or I can do to end this war, but your son still can stop this…" Piandao walked toward a nearby wardrobe and took out from it his sword, Kaya's eyes widened. "Most of the slaves on these lands are from the Water Tribe, which the government will surely claim to be a war declaration, if the Water Tribe attacks first then the Earth Kingdom will once again support the Fire Nation… at any rate, war is inevitable… so I'm going to try and slow the rebellion… your son must leave these lands… that way he will have more time to end his training and be ready to lead his tribe… I also need to find some answers about the leader of this revolution…"

"The Blue Spirit?" Piandao nodded, perhaps it wasn't the best plan of action, but was everything they could do. "What will happen… if the Blue Spirit were to fall? Will it be the end of this civil war?"

"There is no way I can tell, it all depends of the influence this supposed Blue Spirit has on the hearts of people, it can all be over like a tragedy which will be part of history books… or evolve into something bigger, at any rate, only the Blue Spirit knows the answer." Kaya nodded and coughed hard, Piandao directed his look toward the once strong woman, sadness was evident on his face. "My queen… please rest and leave this world peacefully…" And with that last said, Piandao left the room.

* * *

"What do ya mean I'm not allowed outside of the castle?" The young princess of the Earth Kingdom cried out in annoyance toward one of the many guards cutting her way out of the Fire Nation palace, of course the girl was aware of the battle taking place all around of the city, but with both Master Yu and Sokka in jail, there was no one who could control her awful temper. "I want to leave this stupid palace at once! Unless you want me to earthbend your butt out of the way!"

"Go ahead and leave if that's what you want." Toph never had to turn around, she didn't even have to look on the vibrations, she knew who she was because of her annoying voice, Azula, the princess of this crumbling nation as well as her two personal bodyguards, Mai and Ty Lee. "But I won't forgive you if your actions break into an international conflict, face it blind girl, there is a war out there! Placing the princess of a foreign kingdom in danger would only worsen it all up! So quit being such a baby and behave as the princess you are!"

"…Azula… you are losing your coolness…" Azula barely nodded at Mai's words, the Fire Princess was gasping for air and barely able to stand the tension, this conflict had lasted more than a couple of weeks and was only getting worse. "…Let's go, your father has requested a meeting… if we don't hurry you will be late…"

"I know! Just… give me a break…" Toph's anger suddenly faded, Azula's vibrations were full with hatred and pain, but Toph could also feel she was worried and feeling helpless, just like she was at that moment, unable to do something to stop this endless war that was taking place just outside those metal made doors. "Ty Lee! As long as this war is taking place, I will leave the custody of Earth Princess Toph Bei Fong in your hands!" Ty Lee was about to complain, but Azula turned around fast and faced her. "That's an order!" And after saying that last, she left with Mai.

"Ah? Why does everyone think I need a babysitter?" Toph cried out loud once again, she was obviously the most annoyed of them all, there was a war taking place, and she was living it at a foreign country, this had nothing to do with her, but still, was trapped in the middle of troubles. "What's her problem?"

"Please try to understand her situation." Ty Lee added shyly, her eyes were facing the ground and was playing with her fingers nervously. "Azula is a prodigy, ever since she was five years old she was forced to study war tactics and trained in combat… it is a lot for her to handle, but… it is her responsibility as the youngest war advisor."

"So it is true what they say… when there are hard times, children are forced to grow up." Ty Lee nodded, Toph just crossed her arms and stomped her feet at the ground. "I may understand her more than what ya think, but that only annoys me even more!"

* * *

In the middle of the city, war was worse than ever, the royal guard was already in action and capturing many rebel forces. The rebels had no actual organization; small groups of slaves would just join forces to break havoc with no common objective but revenge. But there existed a small group of slaves who would actually fight for more than just revenge, a self-proclaimed group of Freedom Fighters. "Follow the plan! Stupid Air nomads! Always searching for peaceful ways toward freedom!" Jet was the leader of this small group and was dealing with many problems; leading a group was already hard, but it was harder when Air Nomads tried to find peace by offering themselves as war prisoners.

"Jet! Fighting is useless! Why not steal a ship as the rest of the slaves and run away toward home?" Her name is Smellerbee, that tomboyish girl who had been following Jet ever since they were captured at the Earth Kingdom, she was skilled at using a sword but would rather evade the conflict and escape. "Come on Jet, what are you fighting for?"

"If you want to run away then do it yourself! Then what will happen? Sooner or later the Fire Nation will capture us again! I won't let that happen! I will find a way to bring the Fire Nation down! I promise!" Smellerbee hugged Jet's arm and pulled him inside the almost in ruins building they were all using as hiding spot, trying to bring some sense into him, but Jet pushed her away rudely. "I won't run away… the Fire Nation destroyed our village, it should have exploded into an international conflict, the Fire Nation attacked a village at the Earth Kingdom and our people never noticed… if my people is doing nothing to save us, then I will, no more Earth Kingdom villages will be destroyed because of the Fire Nation's greed… I will surely stop it!" Jet's eyes glowed with rage and hatred, Smellerbee and the small group of Freedom Fighters remained in silence, like it or not, Jet had a point.

"If it is real freedom what you seek, then there is someone you need to meet." Jet and the group of fighters all turned around and were amazed to meet the Blue Spirit there. "We meet again; I never thanked you for your assistance at the docks." Jet stared at the Blue Spirit with interest; a hint of hatred was evident on his face.

"The Blue Spirit? You disappear after the incident at the docks, and now you make a comeback? I'm starting to wonder which side are you on." The Blue Spirit moved his hand toward a figure concealing himself in the dark, the red cloaked one nodded and placed a bag in front of the small group, it was heavy, and when it hit the ground, the sound of metal was easily heard. "Who is this person?"

"A slave close to the royal family, but fear not, he is on your side, after all, he brought a present for you." Jet opened the bag and found many weapons inside, bows and arrows, axes, long and broad swords, maces, and many others. "And this one was crafted for the leader of the rebellion, when we battled together at the docks; I thought these weapons were the most suitable ones for someone like you." The Blue Spirit then gave Jet an object tied up in rags, when he finally managed to open it he found a couple of hook swords, the weapon was recently crafted, and so it shined in an amazing way. "Now, Jet, if you truly want to lead your group toward times of peace, you need more than skilled warriors, weapons, or troops. Tonight, using the veil of the night as your only cover, come to the prison and look for a female guard by the name of Ming, she will lead you to me and toward the person I want you to meet, until then, make sure you don't die."

Before Jet could quit admiring the amazing weapon he had on his hands and face the Blue Spirit, he noticed both the spirit and the cloaked individual were gone, he wanted to follow them and continue with the conversation, but for some reason, he realized following them was useless, instead, he placed his attention at the battlefield and at the many slaves around the street running in search of cover. "With the Blue Spirit on our side, it may not be that useless to fight, don't you think so to… Smellerbee?"

* * *

"Once again, I am amazed of your loyalty… you truly are a good friend, Sokka." Zuko took off his mask once he knew Jet wouldn't find him, Sokka also took the cloak off, both were hiding inside of that same alley they fought at weeks ago. "By the way, asking Hawky to hide my belongings at this alley was a nice idea, I never thought about searching here." Sokka smiled and then took his black sword out; Zuko had been taking good care of it ever since Sokka was captured. "Such a nice blade for a great warrior, but I still think it must be hard, you left your tribe during a war, and could only enjoy peace for a short while before a new war exploded."

"Don't worry about me, war has always been part of my life, it is inside of my veins, I am more worried about you, what was all that you said earlier about giving my freedom back to me?" Zuko smiled, that smile was annoying Sokka a lot, it was such a fake smile, but he never dared to mention it to Zuko. "Come on Zuko, these are hard times, you can't seriously be thinking about sending me away."

"You know… I always thought everything was going to be different, I thought I was going to grow up and become a real Fire Lord, eradicate slavery around the city, perhaps announce some peace treatments between the Fire Nation and the Water Tribe, invite Hakoda and Princess Katara to a party which would involve your knighting ceremony and the reunion of your family, of course Azula was also going to be there and arguing with me all the time about accepting Water Tribe commoners at our palace, and perhaps… you know… date your sister or something." Sokka punched Zuko's arm gently at the mention of that last. "Don't blame me, I always thought she was cute, perhaps she was right, a part of me did hate the Water Tribe… but not anymore, the real monster is this government… once I finish here, I want you to take me to the Water Tribe with you, but until then, I want you to keep an eye on Toph, after all, she is my bride… sorry for keeping it a secret from you, I recently found it out at a meeting with my father."

"I already knew… Toph mentioned it before I was captured… first you steal my mother and now you steal my girl, I wonder why am I following you right now?" Sokka smiled, Zuko returned the smile, although this time it was real. "So? My new orders are to keep an eye on the Earth Princess? That's not hard to do."

"I'm giving you as a present for Princess Toph Bei Fong… of course that means you will leave the Fire Nation and serve as the Princess's bodyguard at the Earth Kingdom, but be careful, you can't allow anyone to discover you are a slave, or else, they will force you to work at the mines." Sokka said nothing; he just faced Zuko with sadness evident on his face. "Please Sokka, I know what you are about to say…"

"Then allow me to say it… there is no way I'm leaving you here, you are my friend, and my owner, if it weren't for you I would have been nothing but a slave… I went as far as to become a friend of the royal family, and I swore my loyalty to you and Azula, I'm not leaving you, and like it or not, I'm not leaving your sister either." Zuko placed his mask on and faced Sokka.

"Please don't force me to give you an order, I promised to never treat you as a slave, and I have never done it, now I want you to have a peaceful life at the Earth Kingdom, where there is no war and where you can be happy, perhaps become a knight for the princess and, who knows… maybe you may be able to have a life there." Sokka faced the ground and then at the Blue Spirit. "There is a lot I have to do here, and I will not run away from my destiny, even if it means bringing war toward my own nation… live and become the warrior you wish to be, because one day, I want to knight you."

Sokka nodded, Zuko just ran away leaving him behind and in deep thoughts. "If you die… I will never forgive you…" Sokka then took his sword and placed his cloak on, then walked around the city, and ignored the strong battle taking place, and headed to the Fire Palace.

* * *

Fire Lord Ozai was already losing his patience, the six war advisors were all there and waiting in silence, Azula was playing with her hair nervously; Zuko hadn't arrived yet to this important meeting which would surely decide the future of the Fire Nation, such insolence wouldn't be easily forgiven by her father and Zuko knew it as well. "Come on Zuzu… where are you…?" Normally Azula would enjoy it, she was normally a proud person who cared about nothing but herself, but these past years she had been trying to be closer to Sokka had also forced her to understand Zuko a lot, and now acknowledged him as her brother. "…Zuko…"

"Enough! It is obvious my useless son won't follow his royal responsibilities, then I order this meeting to be celebrated immediately!" Azula took a deep breath, having hopes in her brother's arrival was now useless, and so the meeting began. "Peace wasn't supposed to last, we all knew it, and now it is too late, war has begun, and the worst of it is it exploded in the middle of our beloved capital!" Fire filled the room, and the six war advisors were forced to back off and look for cover. "Slaves were supposed to arrive only from the Water Tribe! Who in the world allowed our ships to attack Earth Kingdom and Air Nomad's territories?"

"I wouldn't have arranged that question in a better way my brother." Zhao bit his lips in annoyance, Piandao, Jeong Jeong and Iroh directed their looks toward him. "Only one person can give that order, and it is Admiral Zhao, he who controls our marine forces entirely."

"Are you accusing me you tea bag?" Zhao stood up and burned his chair due to the immense fire bending power boiling his blood; Iroh stood up as well and faced him directly. "Whatever those pirates did has nothing to do with me!"

"Silence!" Ozai burned the whole table into ashes with that last yell; Azula had to back off in order to avoid the dangerous flames that almost burned one of her hair bangs. "I have had enough; I will tolerate no more failures! Our original plan will continue, the Fire Nation will fuse with the Earth Kingdom with the marriage of Prince Zuko and Earth Princess Toph Bei Fong, but there will be a minor change in our actions, we will mobilize our militia! We will stop this civil war! And burn every slave into ashes! Starting with that Blue Spirit!"

"Brother! You are not thinking straight! Mobilizing our militia would surely catch the attention of the Water Tribe, they will know we used their tributes to build a new army; you will only end declaring war to the Water Tribe once again! A war none of our cultures can win!" Ozai launched a furious attack to Iroh, the old war advisor managed to dodge it but his chair had no luck since it was burned into ashes.

"You are wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! We still have the Earth Kingdom on our side, and with Lao Bei Fong dying slowly due to the poison our insider had been placing on his food, all we have to do is control his daughter, with her on our side, we can't lose!" Iroh, Piandao and Jeong Jeong all stood up, but Ozai wasn't over yet. "No! No more democracy! It is I the ruler of this nation! And whatever I want will be done! War is what I want! The destruction of the Water Tribe and the conquer of the Earth Kingdom!" Azula witnessed horrified how her father grew victim of his own hatred and rage, for once in her life, she felt real fear, such madness was unbelievable, little did she know that same madness could explode in her heart as well, it was something barely inevitable.

* * *

"…Our world is slowly dying… I said it before and I repeat it now, can you see it, Yún…?" The young girl cried hard, for several years she had been watching the ones who were supposed to determine the future of this world, she grew to love those persons who fought daily to save the ones they loved and failed miserably. "Tell me, Yún, what is what you see?"

"The heart of the Earth Princess is strong… I can see it… but it isn't enough…" Aang hugged his granddaughter and tried to help her out of her depression, but of course it was not going to work, Yún could feel her heart collapsing with each image running through her own mind. "And that boy Sokka, the scars on his heart are finally healed, but they will once again bleed; the string of his mother's life is breaking! She lasted more than what everyone expected, but this war will kill her!"

"Perhaps Kaya had no real influence in the destiny of the Fire Nation, but her son managed to do a lot and you know it, not all hope is lost, we need to trust him." Yún barely nodded while cleaning her own tears away from her face. "The destiny of his mother is already decided, but his own is still changing… at any rate, it is the heart of Prince Zuko and Princess Azula the one you should be listening to… what can you hear?"

"Prince Zuko… he is going to die… or at least he plans to do it…" Aang nodded. "He will do anything to save his nation… and Azula… if nothing changes in her heart, madness will consume her, just like it did with her father, she will become, a horrible person… everything is awful… is the world really coming to an end?"

"The spirits are still watching, but unless something changes, and a sacrifice is made for the welfare of humanity, everything will be lost." Yún then stared at the airbended sphere in the middle of the room, Princess Toph Bei Fong was there, her eyes reflecting no emotion as usual, Ty Lee was by her side, a caring arm placed around her back as the two girls waited for their role in this war. "Is she ready?"

"Barely." Yún cleaned her tears away once again. "She is strong and her true nature was recently discovered… unfortunately… she is about to lose more than she ever imagined… I'm not sure if she will be able to handle it… only he can help her out, but only if he can endure, to lose that person he loves the most…"

"Then I believe he will need a guide." Yún faced her grandfather; Aang smiled and hugged her hard. "The heart of this Water Tribe child is strong, but alone it won't be enough, Yún, I believe your role in the world's salvation is about to begin."

* * *

Sokka arrived to the palace and managed to make his way inside without been noticed by the many guards patrolling the place, been discovered would earn him another trip toward jail, which wasn't an option considering Zuko's plan was close from beginning. He was tired and wanted to sleep the most, but finding Toph and see her again after almost a month of not seeing her seemed to be the priority at the moment.

He walked silently toward her room, and wasn't surprised to find out it was heavily guarded by a couple of strong royal guard elite members. "Just great, now I have to fight against the elite! Seriously, earning this girl's heart is tougher than what I expected." Sokka placed both hands into position and launched himself toward the guards; he paralyzed them both with no real effort and lulled them into a deep sleep. "Now that's what I'm talking about, good old Sokka is unstoppable now!"

"My hero!" Sokka flinched when hearing that teasing voice, but at the same time he smiled, he turned around and saw Toph standing just across the hallway holding a cup filled with water and smiling from ear to ear in a teasing way. "You can plan on saving me whenever I'm not out of my room and searching for a glass with water." Sokka moved his head in defeat, it was going to be hard to get used to this new Toph.

"Princess Bei Fong! Wait for me! Please don't ignore me! I don't like being ignored!" Ty Lee arrived with various dishes that looked delicious to Sokka's eyes; she could barely carry them all while Toph only carried her cup with water. "Why do you have to eat this late? It isn't healthy! And you will gain weight… So… Sokka? Weren't you in jail?"

"Yeah, pretty much, I just got bored and decided to pay a visit before the fireworks begin." Ty Lee blinked twice; Toph seemed to be as puzzled as her. "The Fire Nation is dangerous Toph, I was ordered by prince Zuko to take you out of here and toward safety before the jail break."

"Then that means… we are enemies." Sokka blinked twice, Ty Lee just left the dishes at the floor and placed herself in battle position. "I was ordered to bodyguard the Earth Princess, even if it means attacking my own student." Sokka nodded, and just as Ty Lee, he placed himself in position.

Toph in the other hand just bended both of their feet to the ground. "Quit being so noisy, can't you feel we are being watched?" Ty Lee and Sokka exchanged looks as Toph pointed to a dark corner at the castle, a figure came out from it and smiled, Sokka recognized the face of the person, so did Ty Lee. "By the feeling of these two idiot's vibrations, I suppose you are one of the good guys."

"You may be right, my name is Piandao, and it is a pleasure to finally meet you, Earth Princess Toph Bei Fong." Toph made a reverence while peaking her nose, Ty Lee and Sokka also made a reverence. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid this meeting won't be that pleasant… please, follow me."

* * *

At one of the many jails at the Fire Nation capital's prison, a door was opened in silence, normally no one would have noticed, but Master Yu was always aware of the circumstances, he even knew the Blue Spirit was there since he set foot on the first stone step of the jail. "I am pleased; a member of royalty comes to pay a visit to this old timer? What an honor, Prince Zuko."

"The fact of you knowing my identity is no surprise at all, Master Yu, after all, you gave this mask to me." Yu nodded but remained in silence. "You wore this mask once, Master, even if it was against your free will, I know more about you than you can imagine, it is the curse of this mask after all… I also know you were tricked."

"Unfortunately my prince, there is no evidence… I can barely remember what happened to me…" Zuko nodded and then took some keys from out of his pocket. "Are you going to set me free as you did with Sokka? Why would you do such a thing?"

"As I said before, you wore this mask, so I know you better than anyone, that's why I trust my nation to you, only you can lead the rebel forces toward victory." Yu stared at Zuko with disbelief, the masked prince just continued. "You would do everything to build a future in which your princess can live happily, because you love that girl as if she was the daughter you never had, I know… because I'm wearing this mask." Yu smiled softly and nodded.

"I will help you, Prince Zuko, but only for Toph's welfare; however I need to ask you, why can't it be you the one leading the rebels? Why asking me to do such a thing?" Zuko faced the floor, Yu just nodded as knowing the answer already. "Is it because of what happened to the son of your uncle?"

"…I never met Lu Ten… and now I know him more than anyone, every memory, every feeling, even the moment he was brutally killed by Zhao is impressed on my mind, I carry that deep inside of my soul, leading the rebels would only lead me to vengeance and turn me into a murderer… that's why… I can't lead them…" Yu could also remember, since every memory of the one wearing the mask was transferred to anyone who would wear it after, the memory of the Blue Spirit was unlimited, and could only keep growing. "The leader of the Freedom Fighters have arrived, his name is Jet, I'm sure the future of the Fire Nation is safe in your hands."

"Blue Spirit, as you requested, I have come." Zuko nodded and then faced Yu, Jet kept his coolness. "Is this the person you wanted me to meet? The one who could help me find freedom?" Zuko nodded, Yu made a reverence.

"Inside of these walls, there are many criminals who were accused falsely, Yu is one of them… here you will find the bending power you need to face the Fire Nation. Just let them know you fight for the Blue Spirit, and believers will follow your lead… I already spoke to them and convinced them, you have nothing to worry about, the rest, I leave it to you." And with no further explanation, the Blue Spirit left the place.

"Why should I trust someone like you? The Blue Spirit said meeting you would help me lead my group toward freedom, but you are nothing but an old man." Yu moved fast toward Jet, impressing the bold teen and forcing him to fall down in surprise. "You are fast."

"I am the greatest Earth Bending Master in history, and I was the previous Blue Spirit, I think those are good reasons for you to trust me, besides, in my mind rest the teachings of the Dai Li, and the knowledge of every Blue Spirit ever born." Yu offered his hand to Jet to help him up, the warrior and leader of the Freedom Fighters smiled and took it proudly, already seeing a bright future for his group.

* * *

Piandao walked Sokka, Toph and Ty Lee toward a room deep inside of the castle; there were no guards around since all of them were guarding every entrance. The palace was immersed in darkness, but from a door, a gentle light was seen coming out from its corners. "We finally arrived… Sokka… nothing could have prepared you for this day, that's why I want you to hold the hand of your friend and be strong." Sokka faced Toph, the girl said nothing, she just offered her hand to him. "Now… be strong… and close her eyes when you are finished."

Sokka had no idea of what Piandao was talking about, but once the door was opened, his heart froze. The room was beautiful, the lights of countless candles were illuminating it in a gently way, and the sweet fragrance of jasmine tea was a blessing to everyone's noses. In the middle of the room, there was a huge bed with white blankets, and on it rested Kaya's body. "Mother!" Ty Lee and Toph were surprised to hear that last, Sokka just allowed his tears to slip down his eyes.

"…Sokka…?" He walked toward her slowly, his eyes reflected fear and were lost in space, but Kaya smiled and did her best to place her skinny hand at Sokka's face. "You did grow up to be such a wonderful person; Sokka… your heart is the purest I have ever seen… I'm so glad…"

"Mother! Are you sick? Do you need medicines? I can ask Zuko to get some for you! I'm sure even Azula would help out! What is what you need?" Kaya then forced Sokka close to her and pulled him into a hug, Sokka couldn't help it anymore, and he broke into tears and hugged his mother hard. "So unfair! I haven't seen you ever since Zuko asked you to be his mother… and now you are sick… and there is nothing I can do to help."

"Sokka you cute boy… you have the kind heart of a girl, you cry too much." Sokka took one of Kaya's hands and kissed it, then he allowed his tears to fall on her hand. "And who might this beautiful girl be? She is crying as well… I wonder why that is?"

"Toph… her name is Toph… she is that girl mom! The one I saved at the Earth Kingdom… I found her… I found her, mom…" Sokka continued crying, Toph hugged his arm, not being able to hold her tears either. "You told me long time ago you wanted to see me married to a wonderful girl… I will get married mom, just as you wanted, and you will be there to witness it, right? You will be there mom, won't you? You will see it all… and then you will smile and hug us, and we will be happy together as a family… Toph will be my wife, mom… she will, and you will be there…"

"I will be there… I promise… I will… be there… even if you can't see me… I will…" Sokka hugged her hard, this time even Toph joined the hug, she had never met this woman, but knowing she was dying was heart breaking for her. "I feel sleepy already… I have been sick for a long… long time… even before you and your sister were born… and despite knowing that, your father married me… and I had two wonderful kids… a princess… and a warrior…"

"Mother… please… don't say such things… I won't know what to do without you… you are everything I have, everything I want… please mother…" Kaya took Toph's hand and placed it on top of Sokka's one, then she kissed both hands and leaned against her pillow once again. "…Mom… Mother…?"

"…Now you have someone to live for, Sokka… I'm so glad…" Toph covered her mouth after that last was said, the vibrations she had been feeling all the time finally disappeared, Kaya, the great queen of the Water Tribe, the one who carried the blood and sins of Avatar Kuruk since the day she was born, was finally gone.

"Why… why did it have to end like this? She was so strong at the Water Tribe, a fearless warrior, a great leader, and a wonderful mother… why did she grow this weak?" Piandao placed a caring arm at Sokka's shoulder; the boy turned around and faced him with sadness. "Why?"

"Your mother grew ill ever since she gave up her life as a warrior, but she passed away being a great woman, always working hard and caring about others, she faced the world with a smile despite knowing the shadow of war was growing… do not stain her memory with your tears… the best you can do, is live on for the ones that are still here." Sokka barely nodded and then cleaned his tears, then, as Piandao said, he closed his mother's eyes and kissed her forehead. "Real strength comes from an innocent heart, Sokka, from now on; show that strength to your mother."

"I will, master… but for now… I wish to be alone…" Sokka walked away, but Toph kept holding his hand and never allowed him to walk away from her, Sokka said nothing, he just held Toph's hand and walked with her toward the balcony at the room, he then stared at the night sky as knowing his mother's spirit was flying into the starry night.

"There are a lot of things I do not understand… and perhaps it isn't the right time to ask about them… but… I need to know… since I care for Sokka a lot…" Ty Lee said that last while weeping the tears away from her face; Piandao placed his hand at her head and rubbed it carefully.

"This woman, used to be the Queen of the Water Tribe." Ty Lee was surprised to hear that last, Piandao smiled softly. "She was a great woman, caring and nice toward everyone, her kindness went as far as to give up her royalty status to save her people."

"But… if she is a Water Tribe Queen… then why is there a slavery mark at her hand? And why does Sokka…" Ty Lee's eyes widened, Piandao nodded. "Sokka… his gloved hand… he has… he is a… the Slavery Mark is…"

"Now you know Sokka's secret, and I'm sure you will keep it safe, since Sokka is a valuable person in your heart." Ty Lee nodded. "From now and on, Sokka will face many hardships, this new life that was given to him will be gone once again, he can't escape his destiny, as the heir to the throne of the Water Tribe."

"But… he is my enemy now… he is Water Tribe… and I am Fire Nation… and he is not just any Water Tribe, he is a prince… keeping it a secret would be treason… then why… why can't I betray him…?" Ty Lee placed her hand by her chest, pressing it hard as trying to understand her own feelings; Piandao just gave his back to her and began walking away. "Master?"

"Sokka must live… I'm sure he will be able to bring balance and end the war, and in order to achieve that goal, he needs you to teach him." Ty Lee nodded. "Treason or not it is something you will decide on your own, but giving your back to a friend in need, will you be able to live with yourself if you do that?"

"…I'm not sure… but… it would hurt me a lot…" Piandao walked away and left the room, Ty Lee just stared at Sokka for a while longer while the boy stared toward the night sky endlessly. "Then, I have no choice but believe."

* * *

"A wounded heart can always heal… but that which was lost will never be forgotten… blind eyes can't see the pain, but the eyes from the heart will cry, and those tears will drown sadness and bring peace… however, one who can see with her eyes and her heart will never be able to understand, since real eyes will fool the heart, and the heart will blind the eyes… such a complicate chain of events… they won't let me know what will happen next…" Yún grew a lot while watching the events taking place at the Fire Nation, it was something Aang was strongly proud of, he could have never asked for a better successor. "How sad… are we humans supposed to suffer?"

"Yún, you have grown to be a great airbending master, and I'm sure you will soon be more skilled than me, now you can see, hear, and sense everyone's emotions easily, and your predictions are sharper than ever, leading the young Water Tribe Prince won't represent a hard task for you, I'm looking forward to it, my granddaughter." With a reverence, Avatar Aang walked away, Yún just stared at the sphere endlessly, the future was still unclear, and she knew the spirits were still waiting for a sacrifice to be made; it was only matter of time, before everything came to an end.


	9. Civil War, Part Two

**Slavery Mark: Book One – Fire.**

**Chapter Nine: Civil War, Part Two.**

* * *

"Mother!" Miles and miles away from where the Fire Nation is, there is a cold city build with ice and snow, there, inside of the tallest tower of a crystal made palace, Princess Katara cried hard, many guards came to her aid, her father Hakoda included, he hugged the girl hard trying to help her out of her depression, and questioned her from time to time about the reason behind those tears. "Mother! I saw my mother!" Surprise filled the face of Hakoda, he was speechless and was unsure as what he was supposed to believe, Katara just ran out of the room and away from her father.

"Katara!" Hakoda followed her, but his march was interrupted by an old and wise person, he placed himself by the door and prevented Hakoda from running after his daughter. "Master Pakku! Katara saw her, she saw Kaya, which means she may have survived!"

"Hakoda, for several years your daughter had tried to contact the spirit of your wife, and it had always been in vain, don't you find it strange the fact of her finally having contact with her spirit after years of trying?" Hakoda gave it some thoughts, but Pakku knew the tired but proud warrior wouldn't be able to understand and perhaps wouldn't want to. "I have been training your daughter since she arrived here, and thanks to the spirits and Yue's influence, she managed to develop abilities no waterbender could have ever imagined, right now, those abilities are calling her, leave her to Yue, she will know what to do."

Hakoda nodded and then stared out of the window, he noticed Katara running around the city and heading toward the sacred shire at the Northern Water Tribe, she went inside and locked the door, arriving to a place no one but those whose blood belongs to the head of their tribe could go. "Yue! I saw her! I finally found her! My mother!"

Yue was a girl a couple of years older than Princess Katara, she had long and white hair, and was a girl blessed by the spirit of the moon. "You finally found her? I'm glad… but then that means she finally passed away." Katara's smile disappeared; Yue just delivered a warm smile to the girl and continued. "She only came to say goodbye, what a wonderful mother."

"I thought so too… when I woke up… but a part of me wanted to believe otherwise." Yue walked toward Katara and pulled her into a hug, Katara hugged her back with care and love. "Yue, if I wasn't able to contact the spirit of my mother until now, then that means perhaps my brother is still alive, after all… every night I try to find him… but I never do…"

"Maybe he is still alive, but there is no way we can know for sure… but please, don't give up hope." Katara nodded and walked toward the pound in the middle of the shire, she then stared at the creatures inside, two fishes swimming in an eternal dance. "Our guardian spirits may know the location your mother's spirit came from, if we find it, then we might find your brother, but, it could be dangerous."

"I know my power isn't as strong as yours, but I must find my brother." Yue nodded, Katara just stepped inside of the warm water and walked toward the creatures at the pound. Both spirits accepted her and began swimming around her. Some kind of strange power then began running through Katara's body, her eyes went white, and the trajectory of her mother's spirit before going to heaven was displayed on her mind. "I can feel it… the spirit of my mother… it was there for a long time but I couldn't find it… because she was still alive…" Yue remained in silence despite noticing the string of blood falling from Katara's nose. "…She was happy, despite knowing she was dying, despite knowing war was inevitable, she was happy…"

"Where did she die? I know you can't see it, but you can sense it." Katara began sweating hard, using this power was harder than what it looked like, her body began shaking, and tears began flowing from her innocent eyes. "…Katara…?"

"The Fire Nation! My mother died at the Fire Nation!" Yue's eyes widened, Katara's ones filled themselves with hatred, even the spirits moved aside, they no longer wanted to help the girl out, not if her pure heart was once again surrounded by hatred. "I knew it… that boy lied to me… every Fire Nation individual is the same… they are all the same… my brother is in great danger, I must leave for the Fire Nation!"

"Right now there is peace between the Water Tribe and the Fire Nation, a wrong move will force war between our cultures, is that what you really want?" Katara nodded in agreement without thinking about it twice, Yue moved her head in negation and faced away. "This is a war we can't win, but… if you truly are the descendent of Avatar Kuruk, our tribe will obey your commands, after all, war is in your blood."

"My brother is everything I have left, and even if war starts, it was inevitable, my mother knew it, I'm too young as to lead this tribe, but I'm sure my brother will, and together, we will defeat the Fire Nation, I promise!" And with that last said, Katara cried her last innocent tear and left the pound, heading toward the palace and ordering her best warriors to join her in a rescue mission, one that would definitively bring her long lost brother back, the legendary prince from prophesies.

* * *

"Our escape must be tonight, otherwise we won't have another chance, according to Prince Zuko's plan, the rebellion will take over the docks and destroy them before the sun rises, which means we have four hours to board one of the evacuation ships before everything happens." Sokka ran from a corner of the barn to the other one searching for weapons and food to place on Eelen's back, Toph was already on top of the Eel-Hound and waiting for Sokka to end the explanation. "Hawky will lead the way; he is well trained and will choose the best escaping route, if you find a rebel on your way you show this to him."

Sokka then took his glove off, Ty Lee, who was being ordered around by Sokka, was finally able to see Sokka's naked hand, rebelling the burned skin with dried blood which made the slavery mark look like a tattoo, one which meant he had no freedom, the Fire Nation emblem. "Sokka, I'm not sure I can do this! You are asking me to betray my own nation! It may be easy for her, but not for me!" Sokka ignored his sifu and forced her to wear the glove Zuko once gave to him. "Why is Zuko doing this?"

"Don't wanna do it, then don't do it, but Azula gave you an order, protect the Earth Princess until the war is over, at any rate you have no choice but lead her toward the docks, I will handle it all from there." Ty Lee was about to complain, but Sokka turned around and gave some new instructions to Hawky. "Don't dare losing him, he is the only hope you have of escaping, and Eelen, I know you dislike Ty Lee, but she is in charge, protect her and Toph with your life, understood?" The Eel-Hound nodded, Sokka then helped Ty Lee up.

"But Sokka! What are you gonna do? Aren't you coming with us?" Sokka moved his head in negation, Toph remained in silence, apparently, she already knew what was going on, and Ty Lee suddenly understood it as well. "You are not serious, she will kill you!"

"Then so be it! I swore loyalty to Azula, at least she deserves to know the truth!" Ty Lee's eyes reflected concern; Sokka noticed and took a deep breath. "I will be ok, I promise, just keep the princess alive, I will definitively meet you at the docks." Ty Lee doubted once again, but after taking a deep breath, her eyes were filled with determination, she took Eelen's ropes and commanded her to move forward, with a furious yell and a tackle, the Eel-Hound destroyed the barn's door and revealed a city in war.

"If you don't come back I will never forgive you." Toph finally spoke out while placing her arms around Ty Lee's waist, Sokka smiled softly, although he knew it was useless since Toph couldn't see a thing. "…Don't forget you still have a promise to keep…"

"Yeah, pretty much." Toph felt like punching Sokka at that moment, but there was no time to waste. Sokka then released Hawky, and the furious Eel-Hound roared hard, running its way inside of the city and following the Red-Ribbon-Messenger-Hawk toward the docks. "Unfortunately… I'm not sure I will live long enough to keep that promise…"

* * *

"Jet!" Smellerbee yelled hard when noticing her leader had just arrived, she then ran toward him and pulled him into a strong hug, Jet smiled for her, that smile sort of won her attention, never before she had seen Jet smiling like this, and what came after that smile surprised her even more, he hugged her back, forcing her to blush madly. "Ah! Jet! What are you doing?" She pushed herself away from him; Jet just looked around the demolished building that was the rebellion's hideout.

"I see more faces than usual, I can even see some Fire Nation citizens, those golden eyes tell so." Smellerbee nodded, Jet just walked toward them and stared at them directly. "…You hate your own government…?" The weak man nodded in agreement, Jet then directed his look toward more Fire Nation ones. "Fine… you can stay, but I will keep an eye on you."

"When everyone heard the Blue Spirit was leading the rebellion, all slaves around the city joined forces, our number may be bigger than four hundred." Jet remained in silence, Smellerbee scratched her chin nervously. "I didn't find the courage to tell them you were the real leader."

"It's ok… the Blue Spirit may be the leader of the rebellion, but I am the leader of the Freedom Fighters." Smellerbee then saw a group of soldiers entering the building, everyone in the room picked their weapons, but Jet stopped them by placing his hand in midair. "There is no enemy in this room, just allies, they are all friends of the Blue Spirit, most of them are criminals of this nation, but as they say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend." No one wanted to believe in those words, but Jet invited them all inside. "They now fight in the name of the Blue spirit."

"A headquarters at a government's building in ruins, very clever I must say." Master Yu arrived last; he looked refreshed compared to the old man he was at the prison, which Jet found out to be intriguing. "I believe you have secured every single map and document you could find." Jet nodded. "You destroyed the useless ones?" He nodded once again. "Then you are doing a good job as the leader of this rebellion."

"But these ruins won't last for long." With Master Yu arrived Ming, the one who took care of him for such a long time, she was respected by her prisoners and she knew who to trust and who not to, which made her a valuable member of the rebellion. "If we don't find a new headquarter this place will fall on top of us."

"Which is what makes this place the perfect front door." Everyone went into silence when hearing that voice, the Blue Spirit then appeared in the middle of the room as if it was some kind of magical trick, the silence kept going, the Blue Spirit's apparition reflected some kind of authority no one dared to interrupt. "Jet, brave leader of the Freedom Fighters, I have found something you may find interesting."

The Blue Spirit then placed a map at one of the many destroyed tables in the room, Yu smiled as knowing what it was all about; Jet just walked toward the table and was heavily impressed with what he saw. "This is… an underground map of the whole Fire Nation capital!"

"For several years, the Blue Spirit has followed these routes and protected the capital from the inside, many secret passages and corridors are found on this map which now belongs to you." Jet was unable to believe it, with this kind of information there was no way they could lose the war. "This is the only existent copy of this map, you mustn't lose it, but if you do you have Master Yu, the previous Blue Spirit, to guide you, after all, he wore this mask, which holds the life energy of every Blue Spirit up to date, he knows these secret tunnels better than anyone, since our predecessors were the ones building them."

"But many tunnels may have collapsed already; we must rebuild them and create new ones for the rebellion to persist." Jet and the Blue Spirit both nodded in agreement, Yu just used his bending power to demolish the entrance of the building. "We must hurry; I can feel the Fire Nation soldiers are close by. The first tunnel is behind those bookshelves, move them aside and leave, deep inside there is a lake, which will be our new headquarters."

"You heard the old man! Head to that lake and camp there, once there we will regroup and prepare the dock's attack force, our resistance will be an underground one!" Every Freedom Fighter there then ran toward the tunnel and left, Ming also left as an order from Yu. "Blue Spirit, now that you and your predecessor are here, I wish to know, who is the one leading our rebellion, I deserve to know since I had trust you from the very beginning."

Yu then began demolishing the building, forcing everyone into the tunnel, the Blue Spirit was about to leave, but Jet placed his hand at his shoulder, he wouldn't let him go until having an answer. "…Who am I is of no importance, all you need to know is my legend had lived for a long time and now had been resurrected, but it is in my destiny to remain a legend, so is the fate of the Blue Spirit." Jet wasn't satisfied with that reply and demanded for an explanation, the Blue Spirit continued. "When this night is over, and the sun rises at the horizon, the Blue Spirit will die, but my legend will live forever." The Blue Spirit then released himself from Jet's grab and walked toward the exit, Yu then demolished the whole place with his bending powers, forcing Jet back to the tunnel and sealing the entrance.

"A man as strong as to sacrifice his life for the welfare of his nation is someone you can't question; his sacrifice will decide the future of the four nations." Master Yu added, Jet just remained in silence while staring at the demolished entrance. A gentle flame then illuminated the place; Ming arrived and was using her bending power to light the way. "Ming, you always do find a way to light my mood." She giggled; Jet closed his hands into fists as reply.

"You knew the Blue Spirit was going to sacrifice his life all along?" Yu and Ming both directed their looks toward Jet, the old but strong master nodded weakly. "Why? Forging the rebellion, freeing the slaves, founding an underground resistance, why would he die for this nation?"

"That's because that person wearing the mask just now loves his nation more than anyone, and with his dead, he wishes to teach his father a lesson." Jet's eyes widened, Yu faced the ground ashamed. "A royal family member, sacrificing his life for the people he slaved for many years, a symbolic sacrifice that will bring some sense into this dying nation…"

"So, the Blue Spirit is actually the Prince of the Fire Nation?" Yu nodded, Ming's mouth opened itself due to the surprise. "That stupid prince… why does everything have to be solved because of royalty…? Isn't my blood enough? Is the son of a farmer such a waste? I will never forgive him… I definitively won't!"

* * *

"It all begins here." Fire Lord Ozai stepped outside of his palace, the royal guards were all by his side, wearing new and stronger armors and walking toward some fearsome creatures at the palace's yard. Ozai then walked toward a bigger beast, a dragon, a real and living dragon. "I never thought we would meet again, but then again, I'm glad I never killed you, my loyal dragon."

"A dragon?" Iroh was speechless; not only because of the dragon but because of the huge salamander like winged creatures the royal guards were already climbing. "And what are those creatures; I have never seen them before?"

"When our father was Fire Lord, he ordered the eradication of the dragons to earn the name of the dragon, his insolence, almost pushed the dragons into extinction, few were the dragons who survived, and my government protected them." Iroh knew it all, and he was proud of his brother for taking that decision, but even after declaring a dragon a sacred entity, no one had seen one for many years. "I secretly kept two dragons, one is my old friend, the Red Lord Dragon, and the other one was, your dragon, the Blue Queen Dragon."

"My dragon? But that's impossible! I am named after a dragon because I killed my own dragon!" Ozai moved his head in negation, Iroh remained in silence. "I asked the Sun Warriors to take care of her… how did you found them?"

"Your dragon came to me on her own, because your dragon and mine are linked by spirit, and these creatures you see here, are her sons." Iroh's eyes widened, those creatures didn't look like dragons at all, they were more like huge winged salamanders. "It was a strange breed, but it worked nicely, half dragons, half Eel-Hounds, the perfect combination, behold, my brother, the Dragon-Hounds army!"

Each creature was armored and seemed strong enough to fly despite the additional weight, which was just one prove of their true wild power and nature, Iroh was horrified, with such power, dominating the four nations would be an easy task. "Brother… you kept this a secret from everyone… this was your real army all along… then what did you do with the tributes from the Water Tribe." A sick laughter filled Ozai's lungs, Iroh then backed off in fear, many black tanks began moving around the city, armored Turtle-Panthers and Rough-Rhinos did the same, and although Iroh didn't know it back then, at a secret location, a marine strike force was already being built. "You always wanted war… you just wanted to know when…"

"It came earlier than expected, I wanted to conquer the world with peaceful ways and wedding strategies, but it seems like I have to use brute force to get the job done, first I will retake my city, and then I will eradicate the Water Tribe, once that is done, I will take over the Earth Kingdom, regardless the cost, brother, will you lead our armies by my side?" Iroh moved his head in negation, Ozai's eyes reflected disappointment and rage. "Suit yourself! Go play the tea house with my son as usual; I no longer need him to take over the world."

* * *

Sokka stared out of the window from inside the Fire Nation palace, many guards were lying at the floor and paralyzed, for Sokka, it hadn't been easy, his hand wasn't gloved anymore and his slavery status was discovered, he would no longer be able to live that life he grew to enjoy so much, and even if his status had remained a secret, the current situation of the Fire Nation would have forced him to give up his peaceful way of life. He walked through the hallway and fought every guard in his way, using his almost perfect Chi Blocking training to defeat everyone without wounding them mortally with his sword; he even managed to strike before Firebenders could use their bending powers and arrived to the throne room.

Once he opened the huge metal made doors, a soft sobbing stroke his ears, he hid the marked hand at his pocket and then ran toward his princess, who was drowning in tears. "Princess Azula!" The once proud princess of the Fire Nation faced Sokka, he then forced herself not to cry, but fell victim of her own sadness and ended breaking into tears once again. "…Azula… I never thought I was ever going to say this but… it hurts me to see you like this…"

"My father… madness consumed him… he is going to do some horrible things…" Sokka nodded, Azula then placed her arms around Sokka and pulled him into a strong hug, soaking his tunic with her tears. "The worst part is… I… I… I approved it… many will die, but I barely care, I thought I would enjoy it when war finally exploded, but a part of me is hurt."

"That's what we call kindness, my Princess." Azula was surprised to hear that last; she faced Sokka's eyes directly. "When I first met you, I was afraid of you, always been mean to everyone and rude, but you changed, at least toward me and Zuko, you were kind enough as to throw a ceremony for me, and accepted me as a close friend of the royal family… of course you knew nothing back then… and now you deserve to know it all…"

Azula blinked twice, Sokka just cleaned her tears away from her face and smiled. "You have…" She began, her eyes reflected surprise and fear. "Your eyes… I never noticed but… you have…" Sokka's smile faded, he would rather enjoy the moment for a while longer, he never thought it was going to end this fast. "Blue eyes… they aren't gold… you have… blue eyes…"

"I kept it a secret from you for several years, my princess, but it's about time you learn the truth." Azula began shaking with fear, then she directed her look toward Sokka's hand, the one who was always gloved, the slavery mark was there, and once again, tears filled her eyes. "I'm not Fire Nation, I'm just a slave captured at the Water Tribe… Zuko promised he was never going to see me as a slave; he even gave me a new life… Piandao isn't my father; he is the one who bought me, still, I grew to love this nation and thought of it as if it was my own… I wanted to be a knight, and swore loyalty to you and Zuko, which is why I am here tonight… if you wish for me to die, then so be it, because I swore my loyalty to you."

"…A slave… I fall in love with a slave…" Sokka flinched at that last, Azula's eyes filled themselves with rage, and blue flames surrounded her hands. "I even dreamed with your knighting ceremony… and I wished you would ask for my hand in marriage… I was… such a girl… such a stupid, insolent and fool, girl!" Blue flames were launched around the room; Sokka had to use all his skills to dodge them. "I was a fool… I believed… I thought I could find happiness… I even had second thoughts about becoming a Fire Empress, just as I always dreamed, and all because of you… a slave." A sick laughter followed, it was an insane one, just like her father's one. "A slave… can you believe it…? A slave, I opened my heart to a slave, I fell low, really low! And now I have no choice but… kill you…" A dagger was then send flying toward Sokka, he barely noticed and intercepted it with his sword, Mai then appeared, she was holding many knifes in her hands and pointing them all toward Sokka.

"You heard your Princess, stay right there and die you slave!" For a moment there, Sokka was unable to react, Mai never cared that much and launched herself into battle, just then he woke up and dodged just in time, he took his sword out and placed himself into position, but one of his eyes was always watching Azula carefully. The princess did nothing; she just faced the floor ashamed and waited.

* * *

"…Something is wrong…" Ty Lee faced Toph for a second but then went back to follow Hawky, the hawk was guiding them across the city and helping them avoid any possible danger, still, Toph could sense something was wrong. "The air stinks like rotten eggs."

"I smell nothing but burned wood." The whole city was on fire, it was difficult to smell anything that wasn't wood from the many houses and buildings around the capital, but for Toph's incredible nose, it was nothing, she could smell something dangerous coming close, and unfortunately, she couldn't see it since it was coming from the sky. Hawky did notice the danger as well and disappeared from Ty Lee's sight. "Hawky is gone!" Then she saw what danger Toph was talking about, Dragon-Hounds were flying around the city, launching fire balls at many rebels who were still unorganized and just breaking havoc around the city, some even noticed the Eel-Hound and attacked her. "Dragons? I thought they were extinct! This is bad! Even we can't fight against those things!"

"Then stop complaining and run!" Even Toph knew it was useless, she couldn't fight something she was unable to see, no matter how skilled she was on vibrate sensing and how good her ears were, she had no choice but run away. Ty Lee asked Eelen to run faster, the monstrous creature was always believed to be the fastest on earth and water, and it was probably truth, but Eelen wasn't a Giant-Eel-Hound yet, and her speed wasn't enough. "The smell of rotten eggs is stronger! They are catching up!"

"I know! I can see them!" Toph punched her for the joke, although it probably wasn't the right moment. "What are you doing? I'm Fire Nation! I'm not a rebel!" But the raiders never cared about Ty Lee's words and continued launching fire balls at the animal. "How did I get myself involved in this mess?"

"Quit complaining and help me down." Toph took Eelen's reins and forced the Eel-Hound to stop; she then went down the animal and placed herself into earthbending position. "I will definitively live on! Stay away!" Toph kicked the floor and a huge boulder came out from it, she then launched it toward the place she heard the Dragon's wings, it stroke one but two were still firing at them, Eelen reacted fast and saved Toph's life, picking her up from the neck of her clothes, throwing her toward her back, and running away. "Hey! I could have handled them!"

"All you are going to do is get us killed!" Ty Lee yelled in annoyance, for once Eelen agreed with her, greatest earthbending master or not, Toph couldn't fight against dragons. The pursuit continued with a lot of difficult times, without Hawky's guide they always ended in the middle of a battlefield, most of the time Eelen could handle it, but then again, whenever she ran into a tank, there was no choice but turn around and look for another route. "This is useless! Dragons chasing us, tanks everywhere! How are we supposed to reach the docks on time?"

Eelen finally had enough, her speed decreased immensely, and so, she was stroke directly by one of the dragon's fireballs, she fell down exhausted and knocked both of her companions, Ty Lee hugged Toph hard while they fell down and stroke some crates nearby, preventing Toph from being badly injured, unfortunately, she didn't run with the same luck since her face was slammed directly with one of those crates, breaking it and being badly injured at her eye due to a broken piece of wood.

The dragons finally landed, and the battle taking place was interrupted, those furious creatures were intimidating, even other Fire Nation soldiers were afraid. Toph stood up weakly and once again placed herself into posture, one of the dragons roared at her, Eelen roared back trying to protect Toph but was totally out of energy and badly injured. "Want a piece of me! Then come and get it! I don't fear you!"

Ty Lee also stood up and placed her fingers into position, blood was falling from her right eye; Toph noticed something was wrong with her and placed herself in front so she could protect her, but Ty Lee pushed her aside. "I'm alright, I was ordered to protect you after all." Both royal guards began making fun of both girls, they obviously hadn't noticed one was the Princess of the Earth Kingdom, and the other one was Jeong Jeong's greatest Chi blocking apprentice. "Princess Toph Bei Fong, please stay behind and take care of Eelen, I will handle this." She smiled, Toph could feel it inside of the vibrations, and it wasn't a fake smile, it was real and full with feelings, she had no choice but nod.

The guards once again broke into laughter, Ty Lee just smiled and moved fast toward them, striking one with her Chi Blocking and paralyzing his leg, and forcing him to his knees and then kicking his face hard to knock him unconscious, the other guard tried to strike his firebending on her, but she jumped and kicked his face before he could give any direction to the attack, then, with her Chi Blocking, she paralyzed both arms and kicked his stomach, sending him flying toward one of the dragons who roared furiously at the impact and ran out of control. It was a miscalculation she would have prevented if her right eye wasn't this badly injured, but it couldn't be helped, in her current state, fighting back was even dangerous, now she had to face a dragon.

Boulders were then launched toward the dragon, since it was on the ground it was easy for Toph to aim at him and use her whole bending powers to scare him away from Ty Lee, the weak bodyguard just fell to her knees and grabbed one of her arms in pain, then she noticed the glove she was wearing, Sokka told her to show it to any rebel she found on her way, until now they had found none and the glove hadn't been needed, but unless Toph was strong enough to defeat a couple of dragons, they were both doomed. Ty Lee then placed her wounded arm in a position the emblem would be visible, for a while there was no reaction, and the dragons were getting closer. "Eelen! What are you waiting for? Stand up already! These creatures are stubborn! They won't give up!"

The Eel-Hound stood up weakly and began moving around dizzily, she couldn't run at all due to a wound at her leg but began roaring hard trying to scare the dragons with no luck. One of the dragons tried to bite Toph but Hawky arrived and scratched one of its eyes, giving Ty Lee some time to pull her away. "Princess… the docks are close by… we have to escape and find a ship…"

"And what will happen to Eelen! She risked her life to save our butts; I'm not leaving her behind!" Ty Lee pushed Toph aside and was stroke by the dragon's tail. "Ty Lee!" That hit probably broke a couple of her ribs, but at least she was still alive and still had energy enough to keep her arm up in hopes someone would see the emblem Sokka gave to her. The dragons walked closer and the mouth of one of them began shining with the light of a fire ball, it would have launched it and killed them both, but someone finally came to their aid, kicking the creature's mouth and forcing it to shut, the fireball burned its throat and forced the dragon to fell. "…Those vibrations…"

The Blue Spirit had finally arrived, with his twin swords he slashed the legs of the second dragon and then ran toward Toph, picking her up and jumping on top of Eelen's back and placing her there. "Listen, you must reach the docks as fast as you can, the rebellion will soon take over it, if you don't hurry there won't be ships lefts for your escape." Zuko then went toward Ty Lee's aid, the girl was barely conscious and in pain. "Can you walk?" She moved her head in negation. "Too bad because you will have to, the evacuation of the Fire Nation capital is about to be over, there is no time to waste, you must board that ship."

"I know… but…" Zuko never allowed her to finish that sentence, he picked Ty Lee up, and just as he did with Toph, he placed her at Eelen's back, he then tied the ropes to Ty Lee's good arm and helped her win some equilibrium. "We don't know where the docks are… our hawk can't fly since it fears the dragons… he can't guide us…" Hawky landed at Toph's shoulder and hid his head behind of his wing ashamed, no one blamed him, those dragons could eat him with a single bite. "We don't know the way… and I can't see that well… not that the princess can either…"

"Then trust her nose." Ty Lee stared at the Blue Spirit with her only useful eye, Zuko faced Toph, the girl's blind eyes showed determination. "You will both be all right, the rebellion will guide you both toward your ship, do not miss it."

"You aren't such a bad person after all… Prince Zuko." Ty Lee was surprised to hear that revelation, Zuko just faced away and jumped down the Eel-Hound, then he took his swords out and ran toward the Fire Nation soldiers who came out once the dragons were defeated. "Eelen, the docks are five minutes ahead, don't rush, just make sure you arrive safely." The Eel-Hound began walking away, leaving the war behind and almost tasting the salt in the air, the beach was close, but a battle would soon take place there, there was little time to waste.

* * *

"Die you useless slave!" Mai and Sokka had been fighting for a long time already, and Azula still hadn't reacted, Mai's body was all bruised, so was Sokka's one, there were no mortal wounds on their bodies but their fatigue was forcing their scratches to hurt even more than usual. Although their fighting skills were even, Mai's rage was weakening her and was exhausted, while Sokka could still keep going. "Not only did you betray Azula… you betrayed Zuko… you betrayed Ty Lee… you betrayed me… I disliked you since the day you arrived… but despite hating you… I accepted you as a friend of Azula… I hoped you would change her… I thought you would save her… you betrayed me as well!"

Knifes flew across the room from inside of Mai's sleeves, Sokka stroke them all with his sword and avoided any mortal wound. "I can't say I liked you that much either, but I never hated you if that helps." Mai bit her lips with rage and then ran toward Sokka with a sharp blade in her hand; it looked like a dagger but was bigger and deadlier. "Didn't your mom tell you not to run with scissors?"

"Shut up!" She swung, Sokka dodged, but not entirely, the sharp object managed to cut him a little below his eye, if he had been slower, the wound could have been a mortal one and not just a simple scratch, this was the nature of his situation. "I entrusted Azula to you! Despite being a commoner! Despite being a peasant boy! Who would have thought you were also a slave!" Her rage was enough as to blind her judgment, she didn't want to not just hurt Sokka badly, but kill him as well.

"Can't I just apologize? I seriously have important things to do." That last enraged Mai even more, which was what Sokka wanted, her rage blinded her actions and she just attacked recklessly, that was what Sokka needed to find an open space in her defense, and so he stroke, not with his sword but with his fingers, paralyzing Mai's body with a single hit, the girl fell down, not actually believing what had just happened, defeated with a single strike just like that, unable to move her body entirely, left alone to be nothing but a doll without strings. "I'm truly sorry… to where I know, I should have died long ago at a rebellion at the Earth Kingdom… but I believe I now have a lot to live for, so I won't die, unless the princess I swore loyalty to says so."

Azula's silence continued without interruptions, Sokka made a reverence for Mai Fire Nation style and then kneeled just in front of Azula, the Fire Princess then faced him weakly, her eyes were still watering but tears weren't falling at all, she was forcing herself to be strong. "If I say I want you to die… then you will just die… just like that?"

"It isn't like I want to die… but I have this feeling you will be asking me to kill myself." Azula faced Sokka, sadness was evident in her face, for Sokka it was odd, never before Azula had showed that kind of weakness. "I still want to become a knight… because there is something I wish to do… but my loyalty comes first than my desires."

"Why can't you be more selfish?" Sokka's eyes widened, Azula cleaned her tears away. "For you it is all about loyalty! Loyalty! Loyalty! Loyalty! What about what you really want?" Sokka stood up and walked toward Azula, he then placed a gentle hand at her shoulder, the hand with the slavery mark. "Don't touch me!" Sokka backed off. "What am I supposed to do now? I want to hurt you badly… so… so badly! I want to see you in pain, but then I just want to cry, and… and… I want… what do I want?" Sokka then found Azula's arms tied around him, pulling him into a strong hug. "Idiot!" But that hug didn't last long. "Everything happened because of this mark…" Azula then took Sokka's hand and broke the hug; she stared at the Fire Nation emblem with hatred and with new tears falling from her eyes. "That stupid mark!"

Sokka bit his lips hard just then, fire came out from Azula's hand and burned the slavery mark, he went to his knees but remained in silence as the pain continued, the smell of burned flesh stroke him directly, his own flesh was burned, the pain was indescribable, but somehow he endured it until Azula finally released him. It all lasted a few seconds, but the pain was there, forcing Sokka toward the floor and stealing the tears away from his eyes. "Ught! Is this my punishment?"

"…Let's say it's called freedom…" Azula turned around and ignored Sokka, he then stared at the horrible burn on his shaking hand. The Slavery Mark was gone, although a new mark was permanently burned on his hand, it looked like a four spiked star, which was the best Azula could do to replace the Fire Nation emblem and give Sokka a natural tattoo. "That's way better than a glove, and is the best punishment I can give you, it will burn you for months, it will burn even more whenever you place it on water… but it's better than killing you."

"…Azula… without the Slavery Mark…" He tried to continue but just couldn't, the pain on his hand was forcing him to remain in silence and bit his lips to release some pain. Azula then faced him; she pulled his ponytail and forced him to look at her directly. "…A…Azula…?"

"…Having you was a selfish wish that seemed to be possible… and now it will never happen… because we will never meet again." Azula then did something Sokka never expected, she kissed him, that sort of helped Sokka, since the shock was enough to steal his attention away from the pain and place it on Azula's lips. Despite the situation he never returned the kiss, but didn't push her away either. When the kiss was broken, Azula's anger seemed to have disappeared. "…If I ever meet you again… I will definitively kill you… don't let me find you…"

Sokka then woke up from the shock; Azula once again gave her back to him. Silence invaded them both, only broken by the sound of the yells coming from the outside, which reminded Sokka of his current mission, to take the Earth Princess out of the Fire Nation. Keeping the silence, Sokka ran out of the room and out of the palace, Azula did nothing, she just stared at the city in flames, her heart was still wounded, but it was a wound that now could heal.

* * *

When Eelen arrived to the docks the battle was already taking place, the evacuation was interrupted and the rebellion was sinking each and every ship they could find. The reason behind the attack was more a symbolic one than a war strategy. The slaves market was at the beach, destroying the place was the perfect symbolic action for the rebellion, and destroying the Fire Nation ships would decrease the provisions the army could get from the outside, most likely from the Earth Kingdom. The attack was planned to take place late since many innocent Fire Nation citizens were being evacuated. Ty Lee and Toph were supposed to have boarded a ship by then. "We are too late."

Ty Lee fainted and fell toward the soft sand; Eelen also allowed herself to fall, Toph didn't want to step on sand since her vision wasn't that good around sand, and so, she remained at Eelen's back. "What will we do now? There is no ship and we are in the middle of the battlefield!" Toph got no reply. "I do need to find a better babysitter."

"Then, my lady, may I sign up for the job?" Toph smiled from ear to ear, that voice belonged to Master Yu, the rebellion was by his side, and the battle to take over the docks was now over. "Ming, please take care of this girl's injuries, someone please bring some medicines for the Eel-Hound, she must rest if she wishes to swim all her way toward the Earth Kingdom."

A couple of hours later, a provisional campsite was established by the docks, Ty Lee was now conscious and complaining about her injuries, her right arm was totally mended and her eye was surrounded by bandages, she was also mended around the waist, the many bruises around her face were also cleaned. "You ran with luck, your arm and ribs will heal completely, you are a strong girl." Ming smiled for Ty Lee, for once, Ty Lee found herself unable to return the smile.

"What about my eye?" Ming said nothing but lowered her face; Ty Lee remained in silence for a second but then gave Ming one of her cheerful smiles. "It's ok, now I have something to be different for, I have many sisters, all looking exactly like me, with an eye patch it will be enough to be different from them."

"You truly are a strong girl, you want to cry but you still smile and act as if it was nothing." Ty Lee nodded in agreement but refused to stop smiling. "Your eye is there, but you will never be able to use it, it was cut in half during the battle, it will heal and regain its form and color, but you will never see with it again. Losing an eye is such a horrible burden, especially for someone as young as you, but I'm sure you will be able to move on."

"I know!" Ty Lee added, her left eye watered and tears began falling from it. "It feels so weird, to cry with only one eye, but then again, that makes me different, I can even pretend to be a pirate." She then covered her face with both hands and cried out loud, Ming hugged her and helped her out of her sadness.

"She lost an eye to save my life… what a girl, I never asked her to do such a thing." Yu then smacked a couple of fingers at Toph's forehead; the girl complained and rubbed her head softly. "How do you do that? It hurts!"

"Toph, she risked her health and life to save you, earthbender or not, such actions deserve your gratitude." Toph nodded, she was grateful, that was for sure, but she was selfish as well and wouldn't show her true nature unless it was toward Yu or Sokka. "Eelen won't last long on these conditions, she will only be able to take you toward the closest Air Temple, but it will be enough, once there you will be able to rest and take care of your companion's wounds."

"You are talking as if you weren't coming with us." Yu smiled and rubbed Toph's bun, messing it up and annoying Toph. "You are not coming?" He moved his head in negation, Toph of course felt it. "But… why?"

"At the Earth Kingdom I will only be a criminal, I have no choice but fight on this rebellion and stay at the Fire Nation, also, I am needed here." Toph nodded. "You will have to finish your training on your own, but I wonder… what will happen when you arrive at the Earth Kingdom? With your father's poor health and the news of the war, it will be hard."

"I'm not going back to the Earth Kingdom." Yu faced Toph, the girl just hugged her knees. "If I go to the Earth Kingdom and my father's health gets worse, I will be forced to marry Zuko so his father can take care of the Earth Kingdom's government, that would get the Earth Kingdom involved in the war, and everything would be a mess… even if I want to, I can't go back, not until I have the legal age to rule."

"…Then I suggest you stay at Air Nomad's territories, at least you will be able to live a peaceful life until you are sixteen and can go back to your Kingdom, perhaps a new government will be taking place, and perhaps your father will no longer be there, but at least you will be able to retake your kingdom and rule it the way your father always wished you would." Toph nodded. "And what will your friend do, she has suffered a lot, I doubt she will wish to go on."

Ty Lee smiled, this time it was a real smile, which of course Toph was surprised to sense, those vibrations coming from her, even after everything she went through, it was unbelievable. "If I gave up right now I would feel horrible, I was ordered to protect the princess until the war was over, which means I will have no choice but protect her, right? Princess Toph Bei fong?"

"You are… such a weirdo…" Ty Lee nodded and then stuck her tongue out in a playful way, Toph never noticed, but such vibrations were enough to please her and force her to blush. "Will you be ok with just one eye? I don't want you to trouble me."

"I will be ok; besides, I always wanted to be a pirate." Toph couldn't help herself anymore, she burst into laughter. Ty Lee was in no condition to laugh, but at least she could smile for Toph and be cheerful. "I will never give up… I have an order to keep, and when the war is finally over, I will smile as I used to do."

* * *

Sokka walked weakly around the city, the battles which took place all around the city seemed to be over, at least for tonight, dragons were still flying around, but there were no rebel forces at the streets and all the fires had been consumed. Sokka wasn't tired at all, but the pain on his hand was forcing him to stop and complain about it, he cleaned it not long ago, and just as Azula said, it burned him. "The sun will rise soon; maybe the attack to the docks is already over… I hope they made it out on time."

"They didn't." Sokka turned around, Zuko, or better said, the Blue Spirit, landed just in front of him. "What happened to you?" Zuko took his mask off and examined the injury at Sokka's hand; he then tore some of his clothes off and tied them around it. "Don't tell me Azula did this to you."

"Ught! Ok, I won't tell you Azula did this to me." Zuko was annoyed by that last, this was no time for jokes and Sokka knew it. "What are you doing here, Zuko? They need you at the rebellion." Zuko ignored him and then helped Sokka to move around the silent city, the docks were close by and they wouldn't be interrupted since the rebellion was done for the day. "Place your mask on."

"I don't need it at the moment, Jet is doing a great job leading the rebellion, and he managed to take over the docks faster than what I imagined." Sokka then questioned Zuko with a glare; Zuko took a deep breath and moved his head in negation. "Zhao wasn't there, that coward must be hiding somewhere, I swear I will find him."

"…What about Toph and Ty Lee? How are they?" Zuko gave Sokka a thumb up, Sokka was finally able to relax. "Thanks the spirits, now I just need a ship… let me guess… you already sunk them all…" Zuko nodded. "Thanks a lot Zuko… that surely helps."

"It isn't the time for your sarcasm… You now have no choice but swim your way toward the Earth Kingdom with Eelen's help, she is your only ticket out of the Fire Nation, I know she is a young Eel-Hound, she may not be able to do it, but it's your only choice." They finally arrived to the beach; it was silent and peaceful, just what both Sokka and Zuko needed after such a stressful day. "You have no time to waste, ask Ming to take care of your injuries and then leave, Ty Lee and Toph are already waiting for you."

"Thanks Zuko… then I guess this is goodbye…" But when Sokka turned around, Zuko was no longer there. "I hate it when he does that… we will meet again, I swear we will." And so, Sokka walked the rest of the way toward the campsite.

Zuko saw him leave from a far away distance; a farewell would have been painful for him, so he just ran away when Sokka was distracted. He placed his mask on and was about to leave, but found out he wasn't alone, Jet was there and staring at him directly. "So, Prince Zuko, are you enjoying playing the hero."

"You weren't supposed to find it out." Jet glared at Zuko with rage, Zuko tried to walk past him, but just as he expected, it wasn't going to be that simple, Jet placed himself on the way and stopped him. "There is a lot I need to do, step aside; I don't want to have to fight you." Jet took his newly crafted swords out; Zuko had no choice but take his own out as well. "Then so be it, but don't expect any mercy, I do have a lot to do."

"Then quit being such a spoiled prince and listen to me at least once." Jet then threw his swords, for a second, Zuko doubted, but he threw his swords as well. "I always found it odd, your wish to defeat the Fire Lord, you must be thinking, what good is a rebellion for if it is only driven by violence and rage, for it to end the right way, a martyr is needed, someone who would sacrifice it all and win nothing but his name at a history book."

"Even that is something I don't care about, I just want my nation to realize how low it had fallen, I don't care if I have to sacrifice it all, my family, my friends, my royalty, even my life, it is something I no longer care about." Jet smiled, Zuko found that intriguing.

"We are more alike than what you think, but there is one difference, I have nothing to lose, while you have a lot to live for." Zuko remained in silence, waiting for Jet to continue. "When I was captured, they destroyed my village, killed my family and took my freedom, now I have nothing left, you in the other hand, still have a life, and you can live it not like the Blue Spirit but like the Prince of the Fire Nation, who will defeat the Fire Lord and restore the times of glory this nation was once so proud off."

"Maybe you are right… but as I told you before, the legend of the Blue Spirit ends today, that's the way it was planned." Zuko took his swords up and then walked past Jet, the Freedom Fighter also took his weapons up, and once he did, he stroke Zuko with them, knocking him unconscious and then stealing his mask.

"You didn't understand what I was saying, you have something to live for, but I do have reasons to die for." Jet took Zuko's mask and then placed it on, accepting the responsibility of the Blue Spirit and being attacked with the memories of those who came before he did and those who died in the name of the Blue Spirit. "So… this wasn't just a mask after all… now I know you better than anyone… Lu Ten? He is the one you were going to die for? Very well, I will grand your wish."

* * *

"Sokka!" Both Toph and Ty Lee launched themselves toward him and tackled him down, of course that hurt both Ty Lee and Sokka a lot, but Toph, who wasn't injured, just enjoyed the moment and buried her face at Sokka's chest.

"I missed you both too! Now please get off, it hurts! Toph, are you hurt? Did something happen?" Toph moved her head in negation, Sokka then directed his look toward Ty Lee, the girl smiled and waved her hand toward Sokka, the boy blinked twice, but then he yelled hard. "Ah? What happened to you? Your arm! Your body! Your eye!"

"I'm fine, really, I mean, my arm and ribs will heal, and I still got an eye so there is nothing to worry about." Sokka's jaw dropped, Ty Lee kept smiling. "But then again! What happened to your hand! It's all burned! Does it hurt? Are you well? Should I clean your wound?"

"I'm more worried about you! Mine is just a burn! You lost your whole eye!" Toph then kicked them both, both complained and directed their looks toward the girl who just crossed her arms and filled her cheeks with air in annoyance; after all, she was being ignored. "Oh, hi Toph, you don't seem to be hurt at all, I'm glad."

"Of course I'm hurt!" Sokka stood up and began looking all around Toph's body for an injury, Toph smiled teasingly. "I broke my nail and it hurts a lot!" Ty Lee burst into laughter, so did Toph, Sokka just slapped his own forehead in frustration. "Sorry for worrying you, but Ty Lee was winning all the attention, I couldn't let that happen."

"Of course she won all the attention! She looks like a mummy while you are as good as new!" Ty Lee was annoyed by that last comment but decided to ignore it anyway, ever since the civil war began, she hadn't been able to laugh like this, so she thought it was best to treasure this moment. Sokka's jaw then dropped once again, Eelen was walking slowly around the beach with one of her legs mended, he then glared at Ty Lee evilly. "What have you done to poor Eelen? Come here baby, daddy will take care of you now, I will never allow anyone to ride you ever again, just you and I baby."

"Wow Sokka, I never thought you had such a motherly side." Toph then covered her mouth with her hands, Sokka remained in silence. "Come on! You know that wasn't my intention! I hate it when it is me the one ruining a moment."

Hawky then landed at Sokka's shoulder and rubbed his face with the one of his owner, Eelen licked the other cheek, which tickled Sokka a lot. "Hey, I'm fine, I'm fine, it still hurts but mom wouldn't like to see me this depressed, so I will just move on, right guys?" Hawky and Eelen both nodded, Toph faced away in annoyance.

"I hate to interrupt but, it is about time you all leave." Master Yu arrived with Ming by his side, Sokka made a reverence for both of his friends, they returned the reverence, and once it was finished, Ming walked toward Sokka and began taking care of his injuries. "I see you no longer carry the Slavery Mark, which will be helpful to you in the future, once you arrive to the Earth Kingdom that is, but until that day arrives, please hide at the Air Temples."

"The Air Temples? But what about Toph's father?" Toph remained in silence. "…I guess we can talk about it later, we really need to go, Zuko said something huge was going to happen, and he said he wanted us to be as far away as possible." Yu nodded, many rebels placed some food at Eelen's back and tied it. "It's hard to leave so suddenly."

"We will be fine, Zuko's actions will soon change the fate of this nation and bring freedom, but until that day arrives, you need to protect Toph." Sokka nodded. "Ty Lee seems to want to travel with you as well; I hope you all become good friends."

"I think we already are, thank you Master Yu." Fire was then seen at the Fire Nation palace, it surprised everyone at the campsite, and so, they all took their weapons in hand. "Whatever the Blue Spirit planned is already taking place, leave now; this is something the Blue Spirit doesn't want you to see."

Sokka then helped Ty Lee and Toph to climb Eelen's back, the Eel-Hound complained a little but endured the pain, Sokka then made a reverence toward Ming after she finished cleaning and mending his wounds, then at Master Yu who returned the reverence. "We will surely meet again!"

"I hope the spirits listen to your words, Prince of the Water Tribe, because hard times are going to strike us, but we will keep fighting, until the day peace finally arrives." Sokka climbed Eelen and then placed his arms around Toph's waist since the girl was terrified with the idea of traveling by sea on top of a wounded Eel-Hound, but as was mentioned before, there was no choice, Ty Lee also hugged Sokka with her only useful arm and then smiled for the rebellion.

Once everything was said and done, Eelen went inside of the water and began swimming away, leaving the Fire Nation behind. Each group member was having different feelings about parting. For Ty Lee, it was the beginning of a new adventure, she had never left the Fire Nation before, and her first trip came without any warning, she was unsure as what waited ahead, but with her usual smile adorning her face, she accepted the task. Toph was glad to leave the Fire Nation, life there was easier than the one at the Earth Kingdom, or at least it was until the civil war began, it grew to be boring and tiring, so leaving did like her a lot. Sokka wasn't happy, he was sort of depressed, his mind flew through time until the day he left the Water Tribe, in the middle of a war and with his hometown burning in flames, it wasn't that different from this time, once again war ruined his life and burned the place he once called home, but just as he was able to live on, he was sure this time it would work as well, a bright future was smiling at him.

* * *

When Zuko finally woke up, he was horrified to know his mask was off and that the sun was already rising, then he was more surprised to notice someone was waiting for him to wake up, she had long and white hair and her grey eyes were staring at him directly. "You finally woke up, I'm glad, for a moment there I thought you had died." She then offered Zuko a water filled coconut, the prince drank it empty once he saw it, then he stood up and ran toward the Fire Nation Palace. "It is already too late; the execution is already taking place."

"What? How do you know that? And who in the world are you?" The girl then threw a bag to Zuko, the prince was puzzled but looked inside anyway. "My royal outfit? How did you?" The girl stood up and then used her air bending powers to clean the sand away from Zuko's hair; he was amazed at that last. "You are an airbender!"

"I don't think you should be talking with me right now, after all, one of your friends is about to become a martyr." Zuko's eyes widened, he ran around the destroyed Fire Nation capital and left the girl there. The girl just faced his direction with sadness. "No matter how fast you run, a person who doesn't wish to be saved, can't be saved."

The Fire Nation palace was heavily burned, so the execution that was planned was taking place in the middle of the city, which was exactly how Prince Zuko had planned it, many injured soldiers were enjoying the moment and throwing rotten tomatoes toward the prisoner tied in the middle of a good number of lumbers, many civilians who were unable to evacuate due to the attack at the docks just witnessed it all with sadness. Today, the Blue Spirit was going to be executed; the symbol many grew up with was going to become a true legend.

Ozai, Azula, and the six royal advisors were there and witnessing it all from a royal like tent, which was now the place where the war meetings would be taking place, at least until the palace was reconstructed. The war advisors were all hurt due to the intense battle that took place last night, but it was admiral Zhao the one heavily injured, with a broken arm and leg, but with a deeper wound, his pride was hurt badly.

Zuko arrived on time to see his father, Ozai, walking toward the prisoner and laughing madly. "You freed the slaves at the docks, began the rebellion, wounded my empire, burned my palace, attacked my war advisors wildly, and made me look like a fool." The Blue Spirit's body was burned in many sections, which was the proof of a strong battle between him and Admiral Zhao, a battle that the Blue Spirit lost, everything was going according to Zuko's plan, but with only a minor inconvenient, he was the one supposed to be tied and about to die. "Let's have a look at the real face of the Blue Spirit!"

Ozai then stripped Jet from his mask; the many civilians around the town's plaza were surprised to know he was only a teenager. "Go ahead, you can kill me if that's what you want, I no longer care, because it was you the one who ruined my life!" He yelled and Ozai rubbed his chin; he wanted to know what all that hatred was about. "Your army attacked my village, my family and friends were all killed, and I was stripped from my freedom and brought here to be as a slave."

"How interesting, but I never ordered an attack toward the Earth Kingdom, they are our allied nation after all." Jet spited out at Ozai's face, the proud Fire Lord slapped him hard. "You will burn in hell!"

"And I will be waiting for you there! You can pretend you are the good guy all that you want, but for how long? Just look at your city! Slaves could have fled toward their nations, but instead of running away they remained here and began a rebellion, because they know you must be stopped, what good is running away when you know you are going to be chased once again?" Ozai ignored Jet and firebended the lumbers, the fire stroke Jet fast, and he yelled in pain. "Today I will die! But the rebellion will bring you down! One day the Fire Nation will be free! And I will be watching it all! Because, I am Jet! The last of the Blue Spirits!"

Zuko fell to his knees once he heard that last, and what followed were the strong yells of pain and agony from Jet, the brave leader of the Freedom Fighters was burned in the middle of the town plaza, but his sacrifice wouldn't be in vain, since the citizens were horrified and now doubted off Ozai's actions. "The spirits are finally pleased, a sacrifice had been made." Zuko stood up fast when noticing the girl he met at the beach had followed him all the way toward the plaza, she faced him and smiled. "Right now your heart is in pain, but I promise it won't be for long, soon, all your pain will be replaced with a new found hope, and you will understand not everything is lost." Zuko said nothing, he just stared at the fire once again, Jet was no longer yelling, and his body wasn't even visible. "You are the key toward balance, you will learn your role soon, I will allow you to rest for now, but tomorrow, your life will be victim of an even bigger change." The girl then disappeared, leaving Zuko there and seeing the mask of the Blue Spirit melting in the middle of the fire, today the legend of the Blue Spirit died, just as he knew it would, but a bigger legend was rising.


	10. World of Ashes

**Slavery Mark: Book One – Fire.**

**Final Chapter: World of Ashes.**

**

* * *

**Hatred was evident inside of the eyes of Zhao each time he glared at the couple of almost newly crafted hook swords which now rested at his room and on top of the chimney as nothing more than a trophy. His right arm and leg were both broken as well as his jaw, but a bigger pain rested inside of his heart, his pride was recently damaged. He could remember it perfectly, just as if he was living it over and over again, the pain of his arm being broken by those swords, and he being punished for sins he committed many years ago.

That morning, moments before the sun rose from the horizon, the Blue Spirit broke into the Fire Nation palace. He disposed of the royal guard easily using those fine swords with no edges and ran across the palace with a torch in hand, he looked inside every single room, defeating anyone on his way, he even had the pleasure to arrive to the throne room where he found Princess Azula staring out of the window in silence, and noticed the unconscious body of her bodyguard. "…Zuko's sister…?"

"You know my brother?" Azula finally turned around and faced the Blue Spirit, Jet, the new porter of the mask nodded and hid his swords, he then walked toward the princess and kneeled. "Why would you kneel toward me?" She began, although she barely cared about the answer. "You who betrayed your nation."

"This nation isn't mine, but was the nation of many of my past incarnations, and they all fought because of love to their nations." Azula gave little importance to what was said and remained in silence. "Princess Azula, your palace is no longer safe, I have to ask you to evacuate the palace since it will soon burn into ashes… if you refuse, I will have to use brute force to bring you out."

"Not long ago I would have burned you until your flesh was one with your bones, but a lot had happened and I no longer feel like fighting, besides… you sort of sound familiar to me, just as if Zuko had asked for my safety." And she wasn't at all wrong, since the mask of the Blue Spirit also held his life energy and now Jet cared for her as if she was his own sister. "…You are going to die… you know that, don't you?"

"There is something I must do first." Azula nodded and then walked toward Mai, picking her up and then walking away with her. "Princess… Admiral Zhao killed someone close to you, a person who once wore this mask, his name was Lu Ten…" Azula was surprised to hear that last but managed to remain in silence. "Now as the new Blue Spirit, I seek for revenge so the soul of your cousin can rest, so I must ask… is Admiral Zhao here at the palace?"

"…I never cared about my cousin's dead… for me he was nothing but a stranger… I never cared about him or anyone…" Jet nodded and was about to walk away, but before he did she continue. "…He is hiding as usual at the war room… whenever there is war, he stays behind and allows his man to die for him… a person like him deserves to be punished… he who just hides and kills the weak, just like he did to Lu Ten…" Jet nodded and then disappeared, Azula never cared to know how he did that, she just left the room carrying the unconscious body of Mai, never looking back or caring about the fate of the Fire Nation palace.

When the Blue Spirit made it to the war room, he kicked the door open and found Zhao, he was alone in the room, or at least Jet thought he was since he never noticed the person hiding by the shadows. "The Blue Spirit?" Zhao backed off, years ago he killed the one he thought was the last Blue Spirit, and today that same mask was haunting him once again.

"You killed me… long time ago, I was young and had a lot to live for, but you killed me…" Zhao placed himself into battle pose; Jet never reacted and walked toward him with both swords in hand. "I have a mission, and that is to free this nation, so were the wishes of my predecessors… but… there is a bigger wish resting upon one of my previous incarnations, Lu Ten will never be able to rest in peace, not until he had killed you… and so… I will kill you…" Zhao launched a fire ball at him, Jet dodged and placed his torch in the way, it then burned as Jet wanted. "Although, killing you won't distract me from my other objectives."

Jet then jumped around the room, burning everything on his eyesight, Zhao saw horrified how the great war room was surrounded by flames and the many important documents and war tactics which included the newest war projects were all destroyed. "Fool! You have just destroyed many years of research! Your nation will never forgive you!"

"This isn't my nation! But I will fight for it as if it was my own! Only then I will be able to free the world from people like you!" Jet then threw the torch and drew his swords, attacking Zhao wildly and forcing him out of the room, just then a figure came out from the shadows. Long Feng was having a private meeting with Zhao before the Blue Spirit arrived, but now that meeting wasn't going to be able to continue, and many important documents were being destroyed, documents he saved and took as his own, an evil smile was drawn on his face as he witnessed the tremendous weapons the Fire Nation could have created, and now were property of the Earth Kingdom.

Around the palace, the battle between Zhao and Jet continued, although it was more a one sided one, Zhao was unable to fight as usual, the fear of fighting a ghost from the past was consuming him and so he was throwing his firebending wildly and burning the palace just as Jet wanted, the battle continued like that, with Jet forcing Zhao to use his bending and burn the place and once Jet knew nothing could stop the palace from burning, he attacked. He slammed his hook sword at Zhao's arm, breaking it immediately and forcing Zhao to back off, Jet then kicked his face strongly and toward the next room, Zhao broke the door with his back. "It is here where you will die." They were now at the second floor of the palace's main room. "Once the palace collapses, you will be buried here and the flames will burn you until you are nothing more than ashes, you will die just as Lu Ten did! With no one there to identify your body!" Jet kicked him at the stomach, Zhao fall down from the second floor to the first one, he survived the fall but his leg was broken. "You survived the fall? Better that way, I will be able to send you to hell with my own hands then!"

But before Jet could do that he felt his body being attacked from behind and so he fell from the second floor as well; the hit was strong enough as to knock him unconscious. "And so the Blue Spirit falls, killed by Lao Feng! Royal Advisor from the Earth Kingdom!" Zhao bit his lips hard, both due to the pain and from annoyance, he then threw a fireball toward the unconscious body of Jet, sending him away and burning his extremities, Jet woke up due to the pain, but not for long since Long Feng used his earthbending to trap Jet's legs inside of the floor and then threw a hand shaped boulder to his stomach. It was a mortal hit, many ribs were broken and almost wounded his lungs, if it weren't for the Blue Spirit's mask which gave Jet inhuman strength, that hit would have killed him.

"…I knew… I was going to die… but I thought I could take Zhao's life at least… I failed… forgive me… Lu Ten… forgive me… Prince Zuko… I was unable to keep my promise…" Jet then fell; he was unconscious and unable to keep fighting. The legend of the Blue Spirit would be over that same morning, after the palace collapsed, a ceremony involving the Blue Spirit's execution took place, and he was gone forever. Zhao knew it but was unable to enjoy it; he was now badly injured, all because of fear toward a ghost, one he was unable to kill.

* * *

But there was someone suffering more than Zhao or anyone, it was Zuko, he was at the plaza, with his eyes immersed in tears and staring at the burned place, nothing survived, Jet's body was totally burned and turned to ashes, which was probably the best, if anything had survived, Zuko's mind would have reached madness. "I was supposed to die here! Jet you idiot! What did you have to die for? Why saving my life and ending yours?!"

"He did it because he had nothing to lose." Zuko turned around and found Yún there, the girl stared at him with determination, Zuko just looked away. "His family died when his village was attacked by the Southern Raiders who followed Zhao's orders." Zuko's eyes widened, Zhao had been pulling the strings around with no one ever noticing it but Yún. "The Earth Kingdom should have noticed, but it didn't, and that's because Long Feng was always there to hide the Fire Nation's actions."

"How can you know all that? Who are you?" Yún offered her hand to Zuko, the once proud prince of the Fire Nation didn't want to accept her help, but Yún ignored him and pulled him up anyway. "You even knew about my mission and my identity as the Blue Spirit, how did you do that?"

"My name is Yún, and I am the granddaughter of Avatar Aang." Zuko was surprised to hear that last; Yún smiled and asked Zuko to follow her. "My grandfather surpassed the powers of any known Avatar several years ago, and he developed powers that could easily compare him to a God in mortal body, one of his new found abilities involved future sight, he saw some horrible things there, many that can't be stopped, but some still can, although changing the future defies the strongest taboo of them all, I am planning on changing that future."

"What does that has to do with me? Wait! If your grandfather was able to see the future, why didn't he stop this war?! Why allowing all this?!" Zuko then pointed at the Fire Nation capital, it was all destroyed due to the weeks of war that took place, Yún was hurt to witness it all but refused to give up on her determination and continued walking toward the beach.

"Grandfather once said, changing the future was selfish even if it involved the greatest good, so he never interfered." Zuko was disgusted by that last, many had died already and many would still die, many of those sacrifices could have been prevented with the avatar's help, but he never dared to help. "But… the future ahead of us is one that must be changed since it goes beyond the greatest good, the salvation of humanity as we know it, Prince Zuko, you may not believe in my words, but the fate of the world as we know it depends on the result of the war that is to come… and it is linked to the actions of a few selected ones, those who the spirits are watching, Prince Zuko, you are one of those chosen ones, so is your friend who swore loyalty to you… he who must bring equilibrium… and you who will bring judgment."

* * *

Sokka never noticed the moment he was defeated by laziness and fall asleep, but he did notice the moment Eelen reached land and collapsed at the soft white sand of the beach, he noticed the heavy bodies of Toph and Ty Lee were both hitting his body, they were both sleeping peacefully, Sokka smiled at that view but then moved fast in fear when noticing Ty Lee's right eye was once again bleeding and soaking her bandages. "Ty Lee! Wake up! Hey! Hawky! Go look for help!" The Hawk woke up abruptly and flew away, Toph woke up annoyed by Sokka's yelling but soon noticed Ty Lee was barely giving away any vibration and so Toph also fall victim of fear.

"Ty Lee!" She yelled hard and then made her way down Eelen's back, she then searched around the place for a rock, which wasn't an easy task since her vision wasn't that good on sand, once she found a big one she bended it and gave it the form of a stone made bed where Sokka placed Ty Lee and began taking care of her injuries. "Is she gonna be alright?"

"I'm not sure, I read many books but none about medicine, all I can do is try to stop the bleeding." Sokka then placed his fingers into position and punched a zone at Ty Lee's belly, it wasn't a Chi Blocking technique but acupuncture, the bleeding suddenly faded but that didn't help Sokka relax at all, Ty Lee was still unconscious. "Hey, Ty Lee, wake up girl." Toph hugged one of Sokka's arms when she noticed Ty Lee's vibrations grew weaker, Sokka feared the worst would happen, but to his surprise, Hawky arrived, he was followed by an old woman with a kind face and a young little girl with a scary hairstyle.

"Do you see that Meng? I was right after all, Madam Wu never fails at a prediction, I knew it was going to be at the beach, not at the forest." The little girl by the name of Meng nodded and ran toward Ty Lee; she closed her eyes scared when noticing the blood but gave a bag with herbs to Sokka. The warrior was unable to understand what was going on but Madam Wu walked toward him and yelled. "What are you waiting for?! Start smashing those herbs before this girl dies." Sokka was still unable to understand it but did as he was told. "You, Princess Toph Bei Fong, I must ask you to bring some water from a river close by, a lot needs to be done and we need water."

Meng then gave a bucket to Toph, she was still closing her eyes not wanting to see the blood, Toph took the bucket with some difficult since she was still unable to see and then ran toward the place she heard the water flowing. "Wait! Toph! Don't run away on your own! It's dangerous!"

"You will stay where you are and smash those herbs, unless you want your friend over there to die." Sokka flinched and kept smashing the herbs, Madam Wu just sat down at the place she knew Meng would place a chair and relaxed. "Thank you sweetheart, you are a nice assistant, Madam Wu is pleased, now, go to town and bring my wallet, there is a prediction that must be done."

* * *

"Prince Zuko, do you believe in fortune telling?" Yún asked Zuko, they were now at the beach, but far away from the docks and from the rebellion, Zuko found the question odd, but moved his head in negation. "I see… as the granddaughter of Avatar Aang, I was born with the ability of fortune telling, which is an ability not many aribenders can master, only girls who were blessed by the spirits… do you want to know, your fortune?"

"…You are… a weird girl, why are you here? And why are you trying to help me?" Yún remained in silence but smiled; Zuko was annoyed by that last, but breathed out in defeat. "Fine, maybe I can give it a try, but then you will tell me what it is all about." Yún nodded, she then sat down and asked Zuko to sit in front of her. Once he did, she placed both hands at his cheeks and placed her forehead at his own. "What are you doing?"

"There are many ways of future telling, but since I was blessed by the spirits and the blood of avatar Aang runs through my veins, for me it is easier, all I need to do is to share my energy with yours, and your fortune will be revealed to me." Zuko gulped hard, Yún smiled. "Just as I thought, there are many paths you can follow, your heart isn't ready yet, there is a lot you need to learn… she may be able to help you, and you will also change her heart, but only if you want to tie your destiny to her own."

"Who are you talking about?" Yún giggled, Zuko blushed and interrupted the fortune telling. "What's with that weird laugh? It freaked me out." Yún was sort of annoyed by that last but decided to ignore it. "…What girl were you talking about…?"

"A girl who might change your life forever, but, certain conditions are needed… only if you wish to meet the girl I'm speaking about, you will meet her… and if there is a minor doubt in your heart, your fortune will lead you toward a different path and you will never meet that girl, at least not with the same conditions, the way you think, the way you act, everything moves the strings of your fortune." Zuko blinked twice, this fortune telling was a weird one and was going nowhere. "Think about it carefully, your answer will change your fate and not only yours, the fate of the nation you swore to protect will also change, since it is you the chosen one who will do the judgment… if you wish to meet her, then you must have no doubt in your heart."

"What are you talking about? What kind of fortune telling is this one?" Yún remained in silence and waited, Zuko continued. "My fortune says I will meet a girl, but you also said I will only meet her if I really want to meet her." She nodded, Zuko continued. "This girl… will she really help me change the fate of my nation?" Yún stared a Zuko's eyes and then placed a hand at one of them.

"All I am saying is there is a possibility, fortune telling is never an exact reading, that's why it is called fortune… what I'm trying to say is, everything you do, everything you say, everything you think, it is all forging your fortune." Yún then took Zuko's hand and stared at it, Zuko was afraid of what could happen now but tried to relax. "Fortune telling is hard, because an action can change it easily not like future which can't be changed, only grandfather Aang is able to see the real future, but even that future… even if there is a minor possibility, I'm sure it can be changed if the strings of fortune are strong enough to tie the future, I know it is hard to believe, but the spirits have placed their trust in you… but… will you dare changing the strings and forging a new future?"

"Seriously, I don't get what you are trying to say at all, first you say future can't be changed, but then you say fortune can change future but fortune is always changing, do you actually have any idea of what you are saying?" Yún nodded, Zuko stared at her with disbelief. "Then again, I still don't know why are you here and what do you want with me."

"You will meet her tonight." Zuko blinked twice, Yún just placed some water at Zuko's hand and kept reading his hand. "The girl who will change your fortune, unfortunately, you won't be awake to notice it, you will only meet her formally once you have woken up and your eye had been cleaned at the sacred shire, you are lucky, no one can enter that shire, not even the Avatar."

"…What are you… talking about…?" Yún finally stood up, she then stared at the city, the army was once again mobilized around the place, there were no rebels by the streets, and the little who were by the docks went running toward their underground domains following Yu's orders. "The Fire Nation army… why is it being mobilized?"

"Prince Zuko, you asked about why I was here… I am another one of the individuals the spirits are watching, I came here to guide you on the right direction and you have chosen your fate… all your actions will now be ruled by your fortune." Zuko was now starting to understand it all, although a lot still remained a mystery. "…Please think about it carefully… you never said you wanted to meet that girl, but in your heart you knew you had to and changed the strings of fate… your new fortune was forged, everything that will now happen, until you meet with that girl, will happen because of what you thought… one thought is enough to pull the strings of destiny… think about it." Yún then spun her staff and it turned into a glider, she then flew away, amazing Zuko and the many members of the rebellion who witnessed the airbending skills of Yún. "Prince Zuko, one day I hope you will be able to forgive me, since your fortune wouldn't have changed if I hadn't appeared before you… meeting me was what changed the strings of your fortune."

* * *

The sun was already hiding, Toph could tell since the temperature was lowering and the sound of the waves was stronger, which meant the moon would soon appear at the sky. For Toph it was a nice feeling, unfortunately she couldn't enjoy it, Ty Lee was weaker than usual, and now was victim of a strong fever, all because of the injury at her right eye that wasn't cleaned properly. "How is she?" Sokka moved his head in negation while once again wetting the towel he was using to lower her fever.

"Do not worry about her my girl, she will surely be all right, I have seen it on her fortune, this illness will help her realize how strong she really is, it will be something helpful in the future since the spirits aren't watching her and won't complain about her actions." Toph rubbed her head as trying to understand what was just said, Madam Wu just asked Meng to walk closer. "Don't be shy Meng, there is no blood at her eye anymore, only an infection." Meng backed off. "I didn't need fortune telling to know you were going to do that, at any rate, it is about time we wake her up, shall we?" Sokka nodded and took the smashed herbs on his hand. "Young princess, please hold her arms, Meng, you hold her legs and try to force her to stay still, she will soon feel more pain than ever in her life."

Madam Wu then took a bottle out, it was filled with a strong alcohol, Sokka who had tasted alcohol with Piandao in the past knew it because of the strong smell, Toph complained but forced herself not to. Madam Wu then placed some alcohol at Ty Lee's mouth; it reached her throat fast, and woke Ty Lee up. "It burns!" She yelled once the liquid passed through her throat, it was an awful sensation, but Ty Lee was now awake.

"Now! Clean her wound!" Sokka nodded and stripped Ty Lee from the bandages of her face, then he pressed the hand with the smashed herbs against Ty Lee's wounded eye, it burned her and forced her to yell hard, Meng and Toph both tried to keep her still, Sokka just continued pressing her right eye, the left one was already crying. "Don't let her go! Right now her eye is infected, this burn will kill that infection and heal her eye, and if it isn't done then she will die."

Sokka and Toph both nodded, Ty Lee kept crying and complaining, but it didn't last for long, since the pain finally disappeared and Ty Lee allowed herself to lay at the stone made bed, she breathed heavily and allowed Sokka to place some new bandages at her eye. "Now that Ty Lee is all right… I demand some answers, who are you? How did you know Ty Lee had an infection? And how did you know Toph was the princess of the Earth Kingdom?" Ty Lee was surprised to hear all that but was too tired as to say a thing; she just rested and heard everything that was said.

"I can answer all your question with this, my name is Madam Wu, and I am a fortune teller." Sokka raised an eyebrow; Toph remained in silence and sat down next to him. "I saw it all in my mind; I knew a princess from the Earth Kingdom would come, followed by a brave prince from the Water Tribe and a weak soldier from the Fire Nation who is not seen by the spirits pulling the strings of fortune, all of you arriving to the Air Nomad's territories after escaping from war."

"We are at Air Nomad's territories?" Madam Wu nodded; Sokka just looked around the place and found mountains everywhere. "A civilization living in exile, and in the middle of the three remaining nations, they live in small groups around mountains or lakes, and are all trained at the four Air Temples, they know no violence but are said to be the greatest martial arts masters, since their spirits are always in equilibrium with their surroundings and move as being one with nature."

"You know a lot about the Air Nomads. That will surely be helpful during your long trip." Sokka raised an eyebrow once again, Madam Wu continued. "If I'm not mistaken, a war took place at the Fire Nation, a war that will soon explode around the world." Toph's face lowered, Madam Wu smiled and rubbed her forehead. "Do not worry, this war won't kill your father, he will live, although you may not like it when you go back to your kingdom, you must be strong first."

"My father is sick, he had been sick for a long time, do you really believe he will be all right?" Madam Wu nodded, Sokka's jaw dropped, he couldn't believe Toph was buying it all. "I already lost my mother; I don't want dad's fate to be the same."

"Toph, don't tell me you are buying the fortune telling stuff, that's not possible, no one can predict the future." Toph broke into tears, Sokka flinched, it had been so long since he saw Toph been this weak. "Oh, come on! Stop crying, everything will be ok." Toph hugged him and buried her face at his chest; Sokka rolled his eyes but returned the hug. "There, I'm sure your father will survive."

"How do you know? You can't see the future." Sokka bit his lips in annoyance, Madam Wu smiled. "No one can, only Avatar Aang." Meng then gave her wallet to Madam Wu, she smiled and took some dust in her hands and threw it to the fire that Meng began not long ago, the fire grew bigger and Madam Wu's eyes widened. "There is an object on your pocket young prince, an important one." Sokka's eyes widened, he placed his hand at his pocket and touched the object. "I know it is a necklace, one which belonged to your mother."

"How can you…? This isn't possible… how?" Madam Wu rolled her eyes but smiled, Sokka just took the object out. "This necklace, it belonged to my mother, I took it from her when she passed away… it is all I have left." Madam Wu nodded and took the necklace in her hand; she then placed it around Sokka's neck. "Wait! No, only girls can use these necklaces, I can't…"

"One day, you will give this necklace to the girl you love the most." Toph blinked twice, Madam Wu smiled. "Until then, don't take it off, since the spirit of your mother will forever be with you, protecting you and caring for you, no illness will hit you, but the necklace isn't perfect, you can still die in battle if you aren't careful." Sokka nodded. "Your mother lived long, more than what was expected, all because of that necklace which just grew stronger with her passing away, that necklace, represents the bond that ties your blood, never dare loosing it."

"…Madam Wu…" Meng began, everyone remained in silence, it was the first time Meng had spoken since they group met her. "…The moon is already rising, and the spirits are coming, if they know of you interference they will get mad… we must leave before they find us out…" Meng then noticed everyone was looking at her; she blushed madly and hid behind her hands. "…Please don't look at me…"

"The spirits are already here? How inconvenient, I still had a lot to say, but it can't be helped." Madam Wu stood up and began walking away, Sokka stood up fast, her visit was a weird one and came with no real explanation. "…Spirits come at night, and they are watching you both endlessly, since in your hands rest the power to tie the future with the strings of fortune, never forget that… what you both now need, is to live… stay around the four temples until the princess reach her sixteen years… until then, she mustn't meet her father…" Madam Wu then vanished with a fog that was just arriving, Sokka rubbed his eyes not really believing what had just happened, Toph was also surprised, her vibration sensing was abruptly interrupted and couldn't sense Madam Wu or Meng anymore.

"…What will we do now…?" Sokka and Toph both faced Ty Lee; the girl was now on her feet and walking weakly toward her two companions. "As Madam Wu said… we must wait until Toph is sixteen to go back to the Earth Kingdom… until then, what are we supposed to do…? We can't go back to the Fire Nation because of the war, we can't go to the Water Tribe either, if their prince returns from the world of the dead, they will see it as a prophecy and prepare for war, that would be dangerous."

"I wasn't planning on returning to the Water Tribe anyway." Ty Lee blinked with her only useful eye, Toph just lowered her face, sad vibrations were coming out from Sokka's body and she disliked those vibrations quiet a lot. "The Water Tribe died for me the day my mother passed away… now, I have no home… I'm just a traveler with a mission… protect princess Toph Bei Fong until she reaches her marriage age… and until that day arrives… my life belongs to her…"

"…Are you…" Toph began, Sokka turned around to face her. "Is this… your oath of loyalty toward me…?" Sokka smiled but moved his head in negation; Toph felt it and lowered her face once again. "…Then… is this because of the promise you made…? Will you really… go that far because of me…?" Ty Lee was unable to understand, she surely wanted to ask, but somehow she knew asking was useless, she would never understand it.

"My loyalty belongs to Prince Zuko and Princess Azula, which is something that will never change." Toph nodded, Sokka smiled. "That promise I made to you, I would love to keep it, many things can change in such a short period of time, but my feelings for you will remain as they are, no matter what." Toph blushed; Ty Lee rolled her eye in annoyance. "Maybe one day… I will be able to keep my promise, until then please allow me to try my hardest and protect you…" Toph nodded, Ty Lee made a mockery, Sokka just smiled.

"I'm already sick of your love sickness, let's get moving, it's dark already and we need a place to spend the night." Toph ignored Ty Lee while trying to hide her blush, Sokka just blinked twice at his sifu's annoyance. "Move on you lazy student, tomorrow we will continue with your training, you owe me some days so you will have to work harder, not to mention now you are our Princess's bodyguard, you must be prepared for anything, I won't rest until you learn every single chi point and master this technique, understood?!" Ty Lee smiled, that smile gave Sokka some confidence.

"Of course, Sifu Ty Lee, for the welfare of our princess, we must try our best." Ty Lee nodded, Toph seemed to be confused, despite being the Princess of the Earth Kingdom, she was called 'Our Princess' by both of her companions. "Right now, Toph is our princess." Sokka said that last as if reading Toph's mind, Ty Lee just giggled happily. "Nothing else matters, Sifu Ty Lee and I now have nothing to fight for but our princess, that's why, from now and on, you will be our princess."

"Eelen, your highness is tired; don't allow her to walk any further." Eelen then arrived with Hawky by her forehead, she picked Toph up by the collar and then threw her toward her back, catching her and then walking slowly behind Sokka and Ty Lee who resumed the walking. "Good girl, it looks like she already likes me, careful Sokka, I might steal her from you." Sokka just smiled once again. "Now, please rest your highness, we will find a place to spend the night."

"Your highness? Are you making fun of me?! Why being so polite toward me?! I might be a princess but I demand you speak to me as your equal! I'm not a princess anymore, quit being so polite!" Sokka and Ty Lee both laughed out loud, Toph crossed her arms in annoyance. "Hell! Quit thinking about me as a helpless little girl! I need no bodyguards! I need no babysitters! I can carry my own weight! Eelen! Put me down! I will walk!" Eelen ignored Toph, which angered her a lot. "I'm not a baby girl!"

* * *

Zuko arrived to the town's plaza, a royal styled hunt was already settled there, the reconstruction of the palace was going to take long, but the military activity seemed to be needed, and so the hunt was established, many others were being built around the town's plaza and many soldiers were recruiting more cadets around the city. Zuko then noticed a red feather falling from the sky; he then faced the sky and noticed the many war hawks flying their way away from the city, all of them holding documents with the Fire Nation emblem on it, declarations of war, now the whole Fire Nation would prepare for the battle ahead. "This can't be… father… I must convince you to think twice about your actions…" Zuko then ran toward the royal hunt, a war meeting was taking place, a meeting Zuko interrupted. "Father! What nonsense's are these?"

"Zuko!" Azula stood up from her chair; it was something which angered Ozai a lot. Ozai stood up as well and glared to Azula with hatred, she backed off, her eyes reflected fear, more fear than ever, and so she went back to her sit. "Forgive my insolence… my father… it will never happen again…"

"It better not!" Ozai glared at his son, Zuko glared back with determination and walked inside of the hunt, he ignored all the war advisors there and pointed toward his father with demanding actions, Azula's eyes widened, never before had Zuko been this serious about anything. "Insolent wimp! I don't care you are a prince, I don't care you are my son, no one should speak to me like you just did!"

"No father! You are wrong! I am the prince of this nation, and whatever happens to this nation concerns me! You might be my father and lord, but as the prince of this nation I demand you listen to my words." Ozai's eyes widened with hatred, Zuko continued. "Your actions so far are inexcusable! A civil war broke and you mobilized a secret militia no one knew about, not to mention you are declaring an open war toward the slaves, your actions will soon reach the eyes of the Water Tribe and the Earth Kingdom, I must ask you to stop now, it could be too late if you continue!"

"Silence!" Fire surrounded the hunt, but Zuko never made a move, he remained as he was, at a demanding manner. "Prince Zuko… I believe you have disgraced me… which is something I will never tolerate… that's why, I will have to punish you… Agni Kai…" Now Zuko had a reason to fear, his own father and Fire Lord had declared an Agni Kai, which was a battle in which the honor was at risk, and there was no way Zuko could decline, once an Agni Kai was declared, the battle was supposed to take place. "We will fight, here and now!" Ozai then launched a massive fire wave toward Zuko, every war advisor had to dodge, Azula included, the attack hit Zuko, but he managed to create some kind of protection shield with his firebending and survived the attack.

"Brother! Are you nuts?! Attacking your own son and challenging him to an Angi Kai?! What kind of nonsense is this?" Ozai then attacked Iroh, the old firebending master never expected that last attack and was stroke directly and send flying against Piandao and Jeong Jeong who were about to aid him and try to control Ozai.

"Uncle Iroh! Father! How could you?!" Zuko then fought back, but his firebending was weaker than the one of his father, no matter how good he really was, he was no match for Ozai. Azula just watched it all horrified, her father was attacking her brother, she normally wouldn't mind, but she now cared about Zuko and acknowledged him as her brother, she couldn't take it any further, her arm was surrounded by blue flames and she was about to launch herself to battle, Zuko noticed and yelled hard before Azula launched herself to battle. "Azula! I entrust my nation to you!" Azula then stopped, Zuko then fought Ozai back with all his power. "This is what I wanted! To be seen by my people! I want them to realize, that even I don't approve my father's actions! You are sick! You brought pain toward your nation! You declared an open war! I will never forgive you!" Zuko then kicked Ozai's stomach with a fire-kick; Ozai was hurt but wasn't beaten yet. "I will… open their eyes… they will… realize…" Zuko spoke out with difficulty, he was tired, his skill had improved greatly due to the mask of the Blue Spirit, but he wasn't wearing it now, and his skill was halved, he couldn't keep fighting, but Ozai could.

"Prince Zuko, this nation is strong and proud, a weakling like you isn't worthy of ruling it, that's why I will end your life at this Agni Kai, so your sister can become the only heir to the throne, your weakness will never pollute this nation I'm so proud of." Ozai then attacked Zuko's face and burned it, many horrified citizens complained, Zuko was always a proud and sort of selfish prince, but was loved by his people because of the kindness that rested on his heart, witnessing that last, burned their hearts. "That burn will surely leave a mark, I know, I will strip you from your royalty status and that mark on your face will now be your slavery mark." Zuko's only useful eye widened, his left one just continued bleeding none stopping. "You will be a slave, the slavery mark will consume you until you can take it no more, and it's a better punishment than dead."

"Then… father… I rather die…" Zuko then ran away, Ozai of course began a pursuit against him, but Zuko never stopped or looked back, he just continued running away until reaching a cliff, he then turned around and faced his father. "This nation will never be the same, that's something I promise, good bye father, I will wait for you in hell." Zuko then jumped, Ozai smiled evilly as he saw his son falling and then saw his body being slammed against the ocean, it was an horrible fall, one no one would survive, but Ozai wanted to make sure Zuko would die, he placed his fingers into position, and launched a tremendous lighting attack toward the water, it exploded and scattered water and blood around the place, a red cloud of blood was seen at the water, that lighting, it managed to wound Zuko mortally.

"Farewell! Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation." Ozai then walked away, many citizens cried because of the loss, Azula just stayed there with her eyes widened open and with tears falling from them, Ozai noticed those tears and slapped Azula hard. "Never dare crying for your brother! He doesn't deserve your tears." Azula closed her hand into a fist, fire surrounded her hand once again, she turned around and was about to launch a fire-fist at her own father, but a hand blocked her attack and blew her fire away.

"Do not allow rage to consume you my princess… it would only allow you to meet your brother in heaven…" Azula's eyes watered once again, she then threw herself toward Iroh and hugged him hard, allowing herself to break into tears and cry all her pain, Iroh hugged her back, and he soon broke into tears as well. "We must live to keep Zuko's memory, he was no enemy of the Fire Nation, he was the greatest hero ever born, and his ideals will forever live in your heart and mine." Azula nodded but continued crying.

Witnessing it all was princess Katara, she had just arrived to the Fire Nation by sea but her ship hadn't hit the docks since they were inexistent. But during the time Hakoda, the one controlling the ship, tried to find a proper place to disembark, they noticed the city at war and the actions of Fire Lord Ozai, Katara was curious about the identity of the person Ozai had murdered. "Who could have forced Ozai into battle?" Her question was suddenly answered; the unconscious body of Zuko emerged to the surface. "So this is the person who pulled Ozai's strings, the one who died fighting him… please take him out from the water."

One of her soldiers nodded and threw himself to the cold water, he then picked Zuko up and drove him toward the ship, his left eye was totally burned and his chest was wounded by Ozai's last attack, but Zuko was breathing. "The prince of the Fire Nation!" Hakoda spoke out, Katara didn't seem to care about it that much. "For him to be attacked this wildly by his own father, he must have betrayed his nation."

"…He will now be our prisoner…" Katara began; everyone at the ship was surprised to hear that last. "Traitor or not is something I don't care about… he is a prince and knows a lot of the Fire Nation, it is evident they are preparing for war, so we must first know the reasons and who is the real enemy, as well as find out if this army was built using our war tributes." Hakoda nodded. "Clean his wounds and try to keep him alive, we now will leave to the tribe and interrogate our prisoner."

* * *

While at the Fire Nation everything was war and pain, at the Air Nomad's territory it was all peace, Sokka and the group all managed to find a place to rest, the home of some monks who gladly accepted them on their home and even offered dinner and a bath to them. Toph was already sleeping peacefully at a comfortable bed, she was still young and couldn't stay awake for long, Sokka admired her beauty as she hugged her pillow hard and blew her own long hair away from her face, her clothes gave her an aura of more innocence, she was just wearing a huge for her measures white tunic, and since she recently came out from the pound nearby where she cleaned her body with the help of Ty Lee, her body had no dust or dirt, she was clean, and even her usually messy hair was now a silk looking river of hair. "Good night Toph." He then rubbed her cheek; Toph smiled and hugged her pillow even harder which of course stole a smile from Sokka.

He then walked outside of the small cottage they were staying at, it was cold outside, or at least Sokka thought since he was wearing nothing but orange colored pants since the rest of the tunic was considered sacred. He then noticed Ty Lee was outside and staring at the starry sky. Sokka walked toward her and sat down next to her, Ty Lee barely noticed since he sat by her right side. "Is that you Sokka?" she turned to face him, Sokka just smiled. "Sorry, I guess it will take some time to get used to have only one useful eye." Sokka then admired Ty Lee's outfit, she was also wearing a long white tunic, but her hair was fixed in a ponytail and the nomads who were taking care of them bought a nice eye-patch for her, she was no longer wearing bandages although her arm was still broken. "…Will we be ok…?"

"Of course we will." Ty Lee barely nodded, Sokka, despite not being able to see her useful eye, noticed sadness in her and placed a caring hand at her shoulder. "Sifu Ty Lee, we will surely be all right, we are at Air Nomad's territories after all, from now and on it will be nothing but peace and relaxation, we will keep training and find a master for me to teach me more martial arts, but most of the time it will be peace."

"…That's not what I'm worried about…" Sokka stared at Ty Lee with interest. "…You love that girl…" He flinched, Ty Lee's face lowered. "…It isn't right, she is from royalty and you are… well… not a slave anymore but a peasant… unless you claim your royalty status, but as you said before, you already gave up on that life… now you are nothing but a warrior whose loyalty belongs to a rebel prince and a princess with a nation consumed by the ashes."

"Don't worry about me." Ty Lee faced Sokka, he smiled as usual, although this smile was more a goof like one. "I won't allow my feelings to get in the way of my mission, from now and on, at least until Toph claims the throne of her kingdom, my relationship with her will be nothing more than a relationship between a bodyguard and his client."

"…I don't think you will be able to do that…" Sokka made a weird face toward Ty Lee; she smiled and faced the stars once again. "I believe, you will soon be victim of your own feelings and fail." Sokka was annoyed by that last, but Ty Lee kept smiling. "But it will all be okay, because my loyalty now relies on her highness, and I will protect her with my life, even if you get carried away by your heart… now I have a new dream… I want her highness to find real happiness, and if that happiness involves you, then I will just give up on my feelings, and pray with my heart for the spirits to make it possible."

"Ty Lee… are you saying you are… giving up on me…?" Ty Lee nodded; Sokka blushed but then smiled evilly. "How sad, and I was just falling in love with my Sifu." Ty Lee blushed madly Sokka laughed out loud. "Just a joke, it was a joke." Ty Lee closed her hand into a fist and was about to hit Sokka, but she stopped there.

"Forget it… it is useless to get mad at you." She smiled, Sokka smiled back. "Sokka… if you ever hurt her feelings, I will never forgive you… because… I love her highness, and I will protect her with my life." Sokka nodded. "Then, promise you will always be there for her." Ty Lee then offered Sokka her pinky finger, Sokka accepted it and closed the promise. "At the Fire Nation, this is a promise that can't be broken, so you better keep it." Sokka nodded once again and smiled, Ty Lee stood up and walked away toward Toph's room, she would be her guardian from now on, since now, Toph and Sokka were her only family. "I lost an eye, but won something else, now I have someone I want to protect, and someone who cares for me as if I was his sister, such a warm feeling, I don't want to lose it, that's why, even if I die, I want to keep this feeling alive."

* * *

"The strings of fortune are already in motion, the spirits are pleased, the ones they had been watching since the day they were born are growing and will continue to evolve, many will be on their way, many who will help them on their journey, and many who will bring pain and hatred toward their hearts, only if they can survive their fortunes will they be able to change the future, this world which is slowly heading toward it's imminent destruction, can still be saved, that's what I, the granddaughter of Avatar Aang, believe, and since the spirits are watching me, they know I will never give up, the forbidden union will take place, that is what I promise, whoever, the fate of the Earth Princess, it still remains a mystery to me, I will just have to leave it all to hope… her adventure won't end here, it is just beginning… and I will be there to see where her fortune leads her… even if changing the future represents the biggest taboo of them all… even the spirits won't stop me."

* * *

**End of Book Fire – Book Air Will Now Begin**


	11. Mercenaries Life

Created by FriendlyMushroom.

_Honoring: Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko and Aaron Ehasz. The creators and executive producers who gave birth to 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' and whose inspiration made this possible._

_Especial thanks to: Miyiku, for her constant support and friendship toward this stranger, it is her, the responsible of my success. Demonking101, who have followed my work so far. TwilightGD who support and reviews had lightened my mood during hard times. And Bluetiger, whose constant critics had improved my writing style and creativity._

_For everyone who had reviewed this work so far, thank you, your approval and interest in this work is what keeps it alive._

* * *

**Book Two: Air.**

* * *

Almost two years separate the events between the civil war at the Fire Nation and the group's escape toward Airbender's territories. Princess Toph Bei Fong, escorted by her two bodyguards, Ty Lee and Sokka, once the prince of the Water Tribe, now live as mercenaries at the proximities of the Patola Mountain Range, a territory close to the Southern Water Tribe where words of war are never heard. Now using the nickname of 'The Blind Bandit' the 12 years old princess of the Earth Kingdom hides her identity and waits for the time of her sixteenth birthday to arrive in hopes of returning to her kingdom once again.

At the Fire Nation, the civil war continues but is close to an horrible end, the Fire Nation capital was consumed by the war and it now reaches every corner of the Fire Nation, the rebellion forces, led by Master Yu and his second in command, Ming, are now in a disadvantage, they can't fight the tremendous forces of the Fire Nation, and the rebellion is slowly being consumed.

Fearing any war casualties, war advisor Iroh gave up on his status and asked his brother, Ozai, to allow him and Princess Azula to run away from home, with Azula being the only heir to the throne and the war dangerously close to the royal family, Ozai had no choice but accept, now both, the princess and her uncle, travel around the seas between the Earth Kingdom and Air Nomad territories in search of the long lost prince of the Fire Nation who is said to have survived the brutal attack of his father. Whether that is true or not still remains a mystery for princess Azula, but she is still willing to find it out.

* * *

**Slavery Mark: Book Two – Air.**

**Chapter One: Mercenaries Life.**

* * *

Princess Katara, now a 14 years old young girl, was by the spirit's shire praying for the soul of her mother in silence, she was wearing warm clothes despite being at the Northern Water Tribe since the spirit's shire was a warm place with vegetation which was blessed by the spirits. "…Yue…" By her side as usual was princess Yue, a girl a year older than Katara, who now was like a sister for the princess of the now extinct Southern Water Tribe. "He already ran out of air, ask him to leave the fountain already, no matter how long he wishes to stay there, his condition will never change."

"Aren't you too harsh with him? Despite his heart been cut in half he survived, and thought it may never heal, prince Zuko still believes the sacred water will be able to resurrect the half that was killed, I believe, he will be able to do it." Katara interrupted her prayer and turned around to face her elder sister, Yue just smiled for her, but Katara never reacted. "As mad as usual, I though prince Zuko had changed you somehow, whenever he serves you, you seem to enjoy it."

"Do not address a slave as if he was part of the royal family, unless he finds a way to erase that scar from his face it will be his Slavery Mark for the rest of his life." Yue faced the pound in the middle of the shire, air bubbles were coming out from it and the two spirits by the lake in the form of fishes began swimming in a more open but still eternal circle. "At the Fire Nation, they burn the emblem of their flag to the dorsum hand of a slave, and they are forced to do some horrible things, this spoiled prince needs to learn what it feels like to be a slave, so he can understand the burden he placed among many of our tribe's brothers." Zuko finally came out of the water, he gasped for some air and moved his long hair away from his face, revealing the scar his father cursed him with, a scar Katara now saw as Zuko's Slavery Mark. "And maybe I do enjoy whenever he serves me, after all, I am punishing him."

"Sister, you are way too cold." Katara ignored that last and went back to her praying, Yue stood up with a long and white towel on her hands and walked toward Zuko, and she then placed the towel on top of his head and smiled for him. "Is your wound feeling any better?" Zuko smiled back and placed his hand at his chest, there, the mark of his father's attack remained as another scar, which also came out from his back.

"As usual, it no longer hurts, but… unless I find a way to resurrect my wounded heart, I won't be able to live on and fight as I used to." Yue nodded and then made a reverence for Zuko, which of course annoyed Katara a lot. "There is no need for reverences; you could place me in an uncomfortable situation."

"It doesn't matter if you are a slave, Prince Zuko, I don't believe in slavery, so please see me as your equal." Zuko nodded and made a reverence, Yue then walked away and toward the world outside of the sacred shire. "Please take care of Katara, she is bored and needs someone to light her mood."

"Ah? Wait, princess Yue!" But Yue left, leaving both Zuko and Katara at the shire. "…I don't like to… stay with her all alone…" Katara didn't seem to hear that last, which of course Zuko was glad for. "Princess Katara, once again, I thank you for allowing me into the shire where no one but those with royal blood can enter."

"…Silence…" Zuko bit his lips in annoyance and closed his hands into fists but swallowed his anger; after all, he now was Katara's servant. "…I allowed you inside, because the day we found you none of my healers could help you, if I hadn't been kind enough and allowed your body to rest inside of the sacred water of our shire, you would have passed away long time ago… that is something you should be pleased for." And Zuko was pleased, although his life being saved came with the burden of being a slave at the Water Tribe, something he disliked a lot. "I'm hungry; I wish to eat Screaming Birds."

"Scre…Screaming Birds…? But, princess Katara, those birds are hard to find at the Northern Water Tribe, it could take me all day to find one, not to mention they are hard to hunt at this time of the year, they are in the middle of their procreation cycle." Katara turned around and glared at Zuko, he backed off in fear and then breathed out in defeat. "Which makes them easier to find…?" Katara nodded, Zuko looked around the place until he found his bone made lance. "Hunting Screaming Birds in the middle of their procreation cycle is suicide, but if that's what princess Katara wants, then I will bring some."

"You can always hunt a Polar-Walrus-Bear instead." Zuko bit his lips with hatred toward Katara, a Polar-Walrus-Bear was perhaps the hardest prey ever heard of at the Northern Water Tribe, obviously, hunting one was always done in groups, but since Zuko was nothing more than a slave, no one ever dared to help him out. "But of course, with the delicate state of your heart, hunting that animal is impossible; you wouldn't be able even if your heart wasn't wounded."

"Enough! I am your slave but you are going too far, I never did that to my slaves when I was still a prince." Katara stood up and walked toward Zuko, she then stared at him for a while with hatred evident in her eyes, she then slapped Zuko hard, the once prince of the Fire Nation complained, but did nothing but turn around and give his back to the princess. "Polar-Walrus-Bear and Screaming Birds, I will be back before the sun hides, please be patient." Zuko then left the shire with his lance in hand and slammed the door hard, Katara then placed her back against the door, her eyes reflected sadness and pain.

"…Even though I'm always rude and hash toward him, he is always trying his best to be nice…" She then allowed herself to fall and ended up in a sitting position; she then hugged her knees close to her chest, thinking about her previous actions carefully. "Mother… when Zuko arrived, he said he once had a slave who was always loyal to him and would sacrifice his life for his sake… such relationship between a slave and a prince, it should have never existed, I can't believe it even happened… but Zuko is trying so hard to change my mind… he is always… being so kind… how is that possible…? All Fire Nation ones are nothing but monsters…"

* * *

"I'm so bored!" At a tea shop at a remote zone of the Patola Mountain Range, everyone went into silence when hearing the yell of a beautiful girl at one of the many tables of the small tea shop, she had long and black silky hair which was adorned in a nice ponytail, and was wearing mostly green clothes, she wore a deep green tunic with long pants which went down until reaching her naked feet, covering her waist was a battle belt, and she was wearing no sleeves, at her chair was a black cloak which was the symbolic body wear of her mercenary group. "Two months and no business, nomads are surely a boring civilization! What's wrong with some action here and there?" Her blind eyes then shined with boredom, her name was Toph, now known only as the 'Blind Bandit'.

"Agreed." Said another beautiful girl whose soft brown hair was adorned in a tomboyish like ponytail, she was wearing a red tunic similar than the one of Toph, but this one was crimson red and at her chest rested an archer's chest protection, at her face she had an eye patch which covered a good part of her face. "But your highness, we should be glad, we saved a lot of money from our last job, we can now enjoy some little vacations… although it does sadden me somehow… I haven't used my bow in some time." With only an eye to help her out, Ty Lee, now known as 'Hawk Eye', was forced to find an activity to force her vision, with a lot of training in archery, she grew up to be a skilled hunter and mercenary, relying less in hand to hand combat, which she still was a prodigy at, and defeat her foes with long distance shots which could be compared to the ones of the famous Yu Yan archers of her nation.

"Well, I am actually enjoying this peace, it gives me some free time to concentrate in my book, 'Slavery Mark' the true story behind the war, one day it will be a best seller." Said the last member of the group, Sokka, the once prince of the Water Tribe, now known as the 'Dark Blade Mercenary', he wore a blue tunic, similar to a ninja's one, long and black boots as well as the usual black cloak everyone in the group wore, his hair was fixed in a wolf-tail. "It's a story of our life at the Fire Nation and how we became mercenaries and earn money fighting Earth Kingdom bandits who want to take advantage of monk's hospitality."

"Sounds interesting, I can't wait to read it!" Said Toph with a teasing tone of voice, Ty Lee fought her laughter, Sokka smiled and was about to thank Toph for her kind words when he noticed Toph was unable to read the book because of her blindness. "I so love doing that!"

"Seriously, are you really happy doing that to me?" She nodded, Sokka breathed out in annoyance. "Whatever, I'm just glad I no longer have to run around slaying Fire Nation guys, now all I have to concentrate in is searching for an Aikido teacher since after years of intense training I mastered Chi Clocking… unless there is something else I need to learn."

"Well, there is a last teaching… but I hope I will never have to teach it to you, I doubt it is necessary anyway, no one likes the idea of being able to kill with just one finger." Sokka nodded, they have discussed it for a long time, the ultimate Chi Blocking technique which could paralyze an enemy's heart. "I won't be teaching it to you anyway… changing the subject, I heard not long ago that there are some girls who mastered Aikido, but they live at Kyoshi Island, at the Earth Kingdom."

"No way! You heard Aunt Wu, I should not place a foot at the Earth Kingdom until I am sixteen, if she really is a fortune teller as she said she was two years ago, I don't want to risk my luck." Toph had a point, but Sokka and Ty Lee weren't convinced at all.

"Your highness, Sokka already mastered Chi Blocking, but he must be ready to fight airbenders if needed, maybe they are a peaceful civilization, but in order to be the greatest warrior ever born he needs to be ready, even if it is useless." Sokka was annoyed by the useless part but remained in silence and continued writing, he was surely enjoying this moments of peace, although this peace wasn't supposed to last.

The door of the tea shop was slammed open, and a group of three Fire Nation soldiers came inside, one was a strong and proud man wearing gold rounded earrings at each ear and fixing his mustache with a couple of rings around them as well, his hair was fixed in the typical Fire Nation style. It was obvious he was the leader of a band of troublemakers. "Ladies, your argument will have to wait for later, that guy over there; he is wearing Fire Nation armor." Sokka pointed out to Ty Lee with his eyes, the girl readied her bow.

"I smell sulfur, that guy is a Fire Bender." Sokka nodded, he then saw two more Fire Nation soldiers coming inside. "Two more are waiting outside; they are riding Komodo-Rhinos." Ty Lee then smiled when noticing one of the soldiers who went inside of the tea shop was carrying a bow and arrows.

"I finally found some competition, I wonder how good he is, his face is surrounded by tattoos, maybe he is or was a Yu Yan archer, if that's the case this could be a difficult encounter." The archer Ty Lee was talking about did have a tattoo forming some kind of red mask around his eyes, and his skin was also tattooed to give his face a paler view. "That one is mine; I want to find out how good I really am with a bow."

"Fine with me, I want the bender, Toph, you can take care of the guy with the chain, it could be a good chance to use your skills." Toph nodded, the one Sokka was talking about was a dark skinned one, he was wearing no armor but didn't seem to need it since his body was better body built than the one of the one they all thought was the leader, he was carrying long chains, one around each arm.

"We are the Rough Rhinos!" Said one of them. "My name, is Coronel Mongke, the leader, these are my friends, Valchir, former Yu Yan archer, and Ogodei, once a member of the Fire Nation royal guard." Everyone inside remained in silence, they were afraid, the Air Nomad's territories were often attacked by bandits from the Earth Kingdom, that's the reason behind Sokka forging a group of mercenaries there, but having bandits from the Fire Nation was something new. "We are here looking for a member of royalty, one who escaped the Fire Nation when the war exploded."

"Your highness!" Ty Lee yelled in a whisper, Sokka finally closed the book he was writing and put it away. "How did they know you were here? You were supposed to be missing at the Fire Nation, not at the Air Nomad's territories!" Toph moved her shoulders up and down not knowing what to say, Ty Lee suddenly smiled. "At any rate, they already found you, wanna have some fun?"

"If any of you know about the whereabouts of the one we are looking for, you better say it now before my friends outside burn this place with all of you inside." Ty Lee smiled and took her eye-patch off, she then placed it at Sokka's face and stayed with her eyes closed, she then whispered to Toph's ears, the blind girl smiled and nodded in agreement, all that won the Rough Rhino's attention. "Looks like someone here knows something… You! Mercenary girl! What are you laughing at?"

Ty Lee remained in silence and with her eyes closed, the Rough Rhino leader found that odd. "Arrr! Do not bother thee girl ye scum!" Sokka stood up, he was wearing Ty Lee's eye patch and doing a weird face, making himself look like some kind of drunken pirate. "If ye have a problem with thee girl mate, ye have a problem with Captain Arr! Arr! Ye hear me mate?"

"I hear you drunkard! And I recommend you stay away from me!" The leader of the Rough Rhinos then saw Toph, the girl smiled and did as if she was actually facing the mercenary. "That girl, she matches the description perfectly, are you blind?"

"Blind? Who? Me? Of course not! Just because I have milky eyes it doesn't mean I'm blind! I can see perfectly well that you are an ugly gorilla like jerk." Ogodei, the one with the chain, laughed out loud, Valchir, who was the serious one with the bow, just remained in silence. "What do ya want tattoo face? Yeah, you, the one with the bow, ya got a problem with me you bully?"

"Enough! It is obvious you aren't the one we are looking for! The girl we are looking for is blind." Ty Lee then fought her laughter, she told Toph before the Rough Rhino leader arrived that there was one person with a tattoo, the one with the bow, which of course Toph used to fool the arrogant leader. Although she was unable to fool Valchir's hawk-eyes, he was still staring at Toph's eyes. "You girl, the one with the eyes closed, you can't see that well, can you?"

"Who? Me? I'm afraid I can't see you mister, do you mind walking closer so I can know where you are?" Toph rolled her blind eyes; Ty Lee was doing an awful job pretending to be blind. "Mister, I still can't know where you are, please walk closer."

"You are a girl, and you are young… you could be the one we are looking for… I want to see your eyes, if you're as blind as you say you are, then they should be milky, show your eyes to me girl." Sokka covered his eyes once that last was said; Toph gave Ty Lee a thumb up, although it was useless since Ty Lee's eyes were shut. "What are you waiting for? I want to see your eyes!"

"Then please take a good look, since little are those who had seen my eye as it is since it was blinded." Ty Lee opened her eyes slowly, and the Rough Rhinos facial features changed with each passing moment, they were all freaked out, even Valchir, who was almost all the time reflecting no expressions. "Ah! How awful can you all be! It doesn't look that bad! I have seen it many times already!" And it wasn't an awful view but a painful one, her eye was there and was milky gold, but there was a red line cutting it in half, it was there where everyone freaked out, just looking at her eye forced everyone to think about the pain. "I know it looks bad, but is that reaction actually needed?"

"Whatever! Just place your eye patch on!" Sokka placed the eye patch on Ty Lee's face, the girl rudely fixed it and then took her bow out, Toph also placed herself in Hung Gar pose, Sokka just took his sword out and stood defiant. "The girl you were looking for isn't here; now, leave unless you wish to get hurt!"

"…Coronel Mongke…" Valchir began. "…That girl with the milky eyes, she is blind for real…" Coronel Mongke then burned both of his own hands with his firebending, Valchir took his bow out and aimed an arrow toward Ty Lee, who was just holding her bow with no arrow, Ogodei took his chain out and began spinning it in midair; everything was ready for the battle to come.

"If you won't give the girl to us then we will take her by force, now, die!" Fire was then launched toward Sokka, it was a dangerous situation since the whole tea shop was made of wood and many innocent people were there and unable to run away since they knew more tugs were outside, Sokka swung his sword with perfect timing to slash the air around him and force the fire launched by his enemy to disappear. "How did you…?"

"I trained a lot to be able to defeat any firebender, and my sword's metal cools itself even after being heated up by fire." Mongke was angered by that last and threw a second wave of fire toward Sokka, who swung his sword again to dissolve the attack. "Nope, it wasn't a lucky swung, I do know how to use a sword."

"Then I will burn you myself!" Mongke launched himself toward Sokka, the mercenary leader put his sword away and placed his fingers in position, he then pressed Mongke's arm before he could even launch an attack, Mongke complained and found his arm unable to move. "What kind of magic is this?"

Valchir then took the initiative; he launched a perfectly aimed arrow toward Ty Lee, who caught it with perfect timing just a few inches before it arrived to her face, her useful eye was trained perfectly and could see the arrow coming easily, and she was also fast enough to catch it. "Sorry honey, but I surpassed the Yu Yan archer's level long time ago." She then placed Valchir's arrow at her bow and fired it with her eyes closed, Valchir dodged and smiled evilly, then he searched for a new arrow just to notice his arrow bag was cut off of his back by Ty Lee's last attack. "I can see the movement of your muscles. That way I can know where you are going to move once I fire an arrow… when I lost my eye, fighting became difficult, but once I learned how to read people's movements, it was all a piece of cake, if I know where you are going to move, I just have to prepare myself to defeat you before you move, and now that you are unarmed, I can start with my favorite part, hand to hand combat, which is something I love quiet a lot."

"…What kind of witch are you…?" Ty Lee smiled and placed her fingers in position, Valchir's eyes widened at the astonishing speed she moved with, he then felt a strong punch at his stomach, his whole body shivered and then he fell, being unable to move his legs. "…You… what have you done to me?"

"Why? I just blocked your chi, I hit a spot below the belly button, paralyzing both of your legs with one hit, the hardest chi point to strike, able to paralyze half of the body, with you it was easy, archers don't have good defense since they don't get involved in hand to hand combats, normally hitting that point is almost impossible… it looks like I still haven't lost my skills." Ty Lee laughed out loud, Mongke saw with fear how Valchir complained about the pain and then stared at Sokka with sweat covering his face.

"Do not worry, hitting that pressure point is hard, only she can do that, I in the other hand, enjoy paralyzing each extremity at a time." Mongke threw more fireballs at Sokka, he pulled his sword out and slashed them all. "I told ya before, that won't work with me." He then ran and paralyzed the other arm of Mongke. "But I can't risk these people's life, so I will just strip you of your firebending, will that be enough for you to leave us alone?"

Ogodei stared at both of his companions with fear, they were both utterly defeated by those two mercenaries, his hands were already shaking with hatred and rage. "Hey! It is I who will fight with you, why not giving me some attention?" Ogodei then spun his chain and threw it toward Toph, the girl placed her hand in the way and allowed the chain to tie her arm.

"Stay quiet you dwarf! You are now my prisoners." Toph's eyes shined with rage once she heard the word dwarf, Ogodei ignored those sharp eyes and threw his second chain toward Toph, she placed her other arm and allowed herself once again to be trapped by the chain. "Now, you are coming with me."

"No one, and I mean no one, calls the Blind Bandit a dwarf, now I am mad… and awfully pissed off…" Toph then crushed both chains using her metal bending, Ogodei flinched with fear as he saw the whole chain being broken as if it was nothing but paper. "I am the Blind Bandit, and I don't like being called a dwarf, you are the dwarf!" She then slammed the wooden made floor hard, breaking the wood and arriving to the ground, which allowed her to use her earthbending, spears of earth came from the floor and surrounded Ogodei, she then slammed the floor once again and the spears sunk into the ground, leaving Ogodei half buried in the ground as well. "Who is the dwarf now? Dwarf! Let's go! I am pissed off!"

"…Toph is awfully scary when she is called a dwarf… I wonder why she is so pissed off…" Ty Lee giggled at Sokka's words and then she picked her bow and arrow bag up, she then placed her cloak on and walked away and out of the tea shop. "Eh? Wait! The Blind Bandit said there were two more out there."

"It's ok; her highness already took care of them." And when both Ty Lee and Sokka came out of the tea shop, Sokka noticed there were a couple of tugs at the ground and unconscious. "Her earth bending is as impressive as usual, as to why she is mad for being called a dwarf; it is because a certain someone keeps growing taller with each passing year while her highness barely grows up."

"I heard that!" Yelled Toph hard from far away, Ty Lee giggled once again and searched for some medicines and bandages inside of the bag she always carries around, she then took Sokka's canteen, which he always ties around his waist, and placed some water at a towel she was also carrying inside of her bag. Once that was done she rushed toward Toph's side, who was complaining about a pain at her foot. "What took you so long?"

"Her highness needs to be more careful, breaking a wood made floor with your foot is no easy task, please don't do it anymore." Toph crossed her arms in annoyance as Ty Lee cleaned Toph's foot and then placed some medicine and creams on it, Sokka just smiled at the view, Ty Lee was now like a mother for Toph, a worried sick one who was always prepared to take care of her. "It will be fine now, it will just hurt you for a couple of hours, then you will be able to walk normally as usual!" She hugged Toph playfully, which of course annoyed the blind girl. "But walking will be a problem; Sokka will have to carry you around." She giggled, Sokka and Toph both flinched.

"What?" They both yelled in unison. "Being carried around? Until reaching our home? No way! I can walk around by myself! I am the Blind Bandit! Everyone fears me! I can smash mountains into dust using my face! I eat rocks for breakfast! Fight with the skill of a mantis! I'm not just a girl who needs to be carried around!" She yelled all that while trying to hide her more than evident blush, Sokka scratched the back of his head nervously but picked her up despite the girl's insistence. "What are you doing? Put me down before I earthbend your butt various feet underground!"

"Just relax; it isn't that big of a deal, you are hurt and I promised to take good care of you so enjoy the trip." Toph's face shined with both embarrassment and annoyance, but she remained in silence and allowed Sokka to carry her around, although her heart was still complaining. "But, leaving everything aside, I am more worried about those guys who attacked us; they were looking for the princess. This means someone knows she is alive and escaped from the Fire Nation during the civil war."

"Agreed, there is no telling if those guys found out her highness is the princess they are looking for, but to keep it safe, we must leave the Patola Mountain Range and look for a new and safer hiding spot." Both Sokka and Toph took deep breathes, ever since they arrived at Air Nomad's territories, they had been running away from anyone who discovered the princess's identity, and just when they found a decent home, an area with little population around the Patola Mountain Range, they were forced to run away once again because now they weren't just discovered but were being tracked down by bounty hunters. "I share your sadness, it will be hard to say goodbye to all those kids." Toph and Sokka nodded and smiled, the place they called home for quite a while was going to be left behind, just as many other occasions before.

* * *

At the Northern Water Tribe, Princess Katara was walking around the training grounds of her tribe. Ever since she discovered the secret militia at the Fire Nation, she ordered her tribe to be prepared, just in case war would start, so there were daily training sessions at the Water Tribe, also, the tributary retribution toward the Fire Nation was interrupted, which of course weakened the relationship between the two cultures.

Today's daily training was interrupted, Princess Katara didn't usually walk past the training grounds, and she rarely left the palace or the shire. "Where is Zuko?" No one answered; none of them had seen or heard of Zuko since morning when he left for his daily therapy by the shire. "That useless slave."

"Princess Katara, you had always been a caring and nice girl, but you always show your bad side toward that poor slave." Master Pakku arrived to the training grounds; he was Katara's personal sifu, but also the sifu of every warrior at the tribe. "He came to me before leaving, he asked politely for me to lend him my best Tiger-Wolf and took his lance and knife, and he said something about bringing a big prey to satisfy the princess's needs… Katara, what did you ask him to do this time?"

"…I said some things… I don't know, I sort of asked him to hunt a… Polar-Walrus-Bear…" The training room then was immersed in an awful silence, not only was Zuko hunting the wildest beast around the pole, but went alone just with a knife in hand and his lance. "It isn't that big of a deal, he is a firebender, hunting that animal won't be hard for him."

"You did know he can't use his bending power since his heart was wounded?" Katara's eyes widened, sweat began covering her face despite the incredible low temperatures. "And not just that, Zuko can't breathe normally at these extremist temperatures, two years isn't enough to get used to our way of life, he is also the worst hunter at our tribe, unable to catch a White-Rabbit-Fox in spring when snow is replaced by grass." Katara bit her lips in annoyance and then ran toward the nearest Buffalo-Yak. "And know you want to save him despite being nothing but a slave?"

"Yeah, whatever, you can sermon me later; I need to find Zuko before he does something stupid as usual." Pakku interrupted Katara's march and then pointed at the gates of the Water Tribe being pulled open by many citizens, people around the tribe was surprised with what they were witnessing, Zuko had arrived, he was on top of a Buffalo-Yak and commanding another couple of those creatures to pull a sleigh, on top of it was the body of a Polar-Walrus-Bear Zuko somehow managed to hunt, and tied to the back of a proud Tiger-Wolf was a fat and round Screaming Bird. "No way… he hunted a Polar-Walrus-Bear on his own? How is that possible?"

"Zuko may be the worst hunter, but he is stubborn, I can barely imagine the great danger he went through." The whole tribe went to his aid, they helped him down and asked for many healers to take care of his numerous wounds, the Fire Nation prince was exhausted and barely conscious. "That boy, if only his heart worked the way it was supposed to, he would be the greatest warrior on our tribe… no… he already is… that's why our tribe accepted him as a member of our family, he earned our trust with hard work and kindness, which is something I can't say of you, Princess Katara, your stubborn self and hatred toward a foreign culture has wounded your judgment, I as your sifu am disappointed, your actions are deplorable ones."

"…Despite it all… I can't forgive his nation… you can think whatever you want of him, I will never forgive him…" Pakku gave a cold glare to Katara, a glare she somehow managed to ignore and walked away toward the shire. Yue witnessed it all from her hiding spot at the crowd, Pakku noticed her and walked toward her, she smiled and made a reverence, Pakku vowed back to her.

"Please Master Pakku, don't be mad with your granddaughter, she is selfish, but it is because of the loss she suffered, she loved her mother more than anyone." Pakku nodded and directed his attention toward Zuko, he was finally able to stand up and breathe normally, which was something the townspeople were glad about. "Most of our citizens are doing their best, they prepare house-made remedies and search for a way to resurrect Zuko's wounded heart, I wonder if that is possible, never before has someone been stroke by lighting at his heart and survived… he must have a guardian spirit."

"He has… or better said he is." Yue blinked twice, Master Pakku gave his back to her and walked toward the training grounds. "Just as you, Princess Yue, who was blessed by the spirit of the moon, Zuko was blessed by another spirit, one who doesn't wish to see him dying; his influence gave Zuko the power to survive his father's attack, and it is still watching Zuko, so is the power of those who once wore that mask."

"Mask? Master Pakku, I'm afraid I'm unable to understand what you are saying." Pakku ignored Yue and continued his march toward the training grounds, Yue just stayed there and watched how Zuko was attacked with questions about how he managed to capture that Polar-Walrus-Bear on his own, Yue was glad to know Zuko was this popular to a foreign culture who now he claimed to be his own, she then walked close to the crowd and everyone went to silence once again, Zuko smiled for Yue and the girl took his hand. "We need to talk; there is something I wish to know."

* * *

"We are home!" The trio yelled in unison, at the middle section of the Patola Mountain Range, there was a wooden made temple, many kids were playing around it and with the now Giant-Eel-Hound, which was now like the kid's huge pet, and with Hawky, who was awfully popular with the girls who enjoyed playing dress up with him and forcing him to wear many feminine clothes. Once the kids saw the trio arriving, they allowed Eelen and Hawky to rest and ran toward the group.

"Mother Ty Lee! Come play with us, we want to play the queen of the pirates again!" Said one of the girls who was followed by many others. "Sister Toph, what happened to your leg?" Said a boy, who looked at her with concern. "You both look so cute together." Said another girl and forced Toph and Sokka to blush hard. "Sister Toph, will you play with us?" Many followed. "Master Sokka! What about today's training session?" The trio backed off, they were always stalked by the kids at the temple, who were all orphans and looked at the group as paternal figures, except for Toph who was everyone's elder sister.

"I'm sorry kids, but mom is busy at the moment, I need to prepare for a long trip, and you all know her highness is lazy, so I need to pack her belongings as well." Toph tried to kick Ty Lee with her only useful foot, but Sokka moved aside so the kick wouldn't find her target. "And big sister can't play, she got hurt when… well… she just got hurt…"

"Nonsense! Hurt or not, I always have time to play with my little brothers and sisters." All the kids yelled with happiness, Sokka placed Toph down, who now could walk a little better and went playing with the kids. "Let's play some arm wrestling! Think ya can beat me this time?" The kids happily challenged Toph back and went to play some arm wrestling.

"Toph… you surely have no heart, you are turning these kids into monsters." Sokka then noticed many boys and girls were still staring at him with hope-full and innocent eyes, Sokka forced a smile and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry kids, but… I'm kind of busy right now; today's training session will have to wait." The kids all looked disappointment, for Sokka it was an odd situation, he had no heart to tell the kids he was no longer going to be able to train them. "Umm… well… this is something hard to say but kids, the truth is I…"

"Will give you the ultimate training session tonight and needs to get ready." Sokka breathed out and relaxed, the old master of the orphanage had arrived, he was an old but healthy monk, just like Avatar Aang was, he had a kind face and a long mustache and short beard and was always carrying a staff to help him move around. "Isn't that right, Sokka my boy?"

"But of course master Gyatso." The kids all smiled and then went back to playing with Eelen and Hawky; some even went and challenged Toph to arm wrestling. "Ya know master Gyatso, for a 180 years old nomadic monk, you surely know how to take care of these kids."

"Who are you calling 180 years old nomadic monk? I'm just 179 years old." Gyatso joked, Sokka clutched. "I had a lot of experience taking care of kids when I still lived at the Southern Air temple, I had one student who was such a kid, it took me so long to get used to his imperative self, but I learned a lot from him just like he learned much from me, he is now a 112 years old monk who travels around the world, I heard he is stationed at a temple of the west, where his only granddaughter lives." Sokka smiled, but his smile soon faded, Gyatso noticed that last but asked Sokka to sit down by a Pai Sho table. "Should we conclude our game from earlier? I can see you have a lot to say."

"Yeah… pretty much… I see you still want to stick to the original game, using the White Lotus again old man." Gyatso nodded, Sokka began the game. "Master Gyatso, I will forever owe you a lot, when we arrived to the orphanage a year ago, all we wanted was some food and water, but you gave us a home and helped us all a lot, specially Ty Lee, you taught her how to fight by hearing the movements of the air instead of using her eyes, she also learned how to read someone's movements by the tension in their muscles." Gyatso nodded and then moved his piece, the White Lotus, a piece Sokka always admired. "And you taught me about patience and serenity, it had been so long since I felt at peace… you also helped Toph out a lot, thought she will never admit it, now she is more open minded."

"Why are you talking as if we weren't going to see each other's ever again my young friend?" Sokka remained in silence but made his move, Gyatso interrupted the game for a second and directed his look toward Sokka, the old monk then smiled and made his move. "Farewells are always hard, but you shouldn't think about them as a permanent goodbye." Sokka was surprised; Gyatso had just read his mind by just looking at his face. "But that's not what troubles you, isn't it?"

"…All my life… I have been running away… and I have lived in three of the four nations but haven't found a place I can call home yet… I thought I finally found one, and now we are being chased… its ok thought, I don't mind running away once again, but it worries me… what will happen, master? With you alone and taking care of the kids… you are also old and I don't know if…" Gyatso interrupted Sokka's talking by placing his hand in front of his face; he then made his move and then spoke out for Sokka.

"I know I'm old, but I won't die quiet yet, most of us monks can live until reaching the 200 years, so don't worry about me leaving the kids all alone, besides, it is your life the one you should worry about, always running away for reasons unknown to me." Sokka then tried to speak out, but Gyatso spoke out first. "I need no explanations… Sokka, the reason I opened my heart to strangers is because that's the way I am, we monks share everything we have and believe in no materialism, this temple will always welcome you if you wish to come back…"

"Thank you Master Gyatso… one day, I want to come back." Sokka then moved his piece; it was a move which forced Gyatso to raise an eyebrow. "Surprised? It was a move that was taught to me by one of my previous masters, a person I always looked at like a father, he said Pai Sho was unique and taught me how to play it." A smile was then drawn at Gyatso's lips, Sokka smiled as well. "Although I was never able to defeat him in a single Pai Sho game." Gyatso nodded and then took the White Lotus piece and placed it face down. "Master Gyatso? Are you giving up?"

"I suppose this is the first time you win at Pai Sho." Sokka nodded, Gyatso took the White Lotus piece in his hand. "This is a present from me, to you, the old master you spoke about, I may have known him, that move was one he always used against me, we were always playing, and our score ended in a tie… after years of not seeing him, his student comes to me and uses his same move, defeating me in Pai Sho and breaking the tie." Gyatso then gave the White Lotus to Sokka, he blinked twice and stared at Gyatso with interest. "We have played many times already, and you always lose… but today, it was Piandao the one you were thinking about, and you defeated me in representation of your master."

"You knew Master Piandao?" Gyatso nodded, Sokka stared at the White Lotus with interest. "My master also used the White Lotus as his most trusted piece, and he always played with the original rules… it is hard to believe you knew my master."

"Piandao was about your age when we met, but, that's not why I want you to have that piece… Pai Sho means more than what the eye can meet, whenever you are in need of help, and you find an elder using the White Lotus, relax and ask him to play a game, and then place the White Lotus as your first piece, if the other player places the White Lotus as his first piece as well, then you will find an ally." Sokka nodded, although he was barely able to understand what was going on. "Now, Sokka, I am sure we will meet again, please take care… I hope one day you will be able to find that place you will be able to call home."

"Thank you Master Gyatso… now, if you excuse me, I have an ultimate training session with the kids… and once it is done, we will leave for Kyoshi Island, I heard there I will find an Aikido Master." Gyatso nodded and saw Sokka leaving the temple and many kids running toward him, for Gyasto it was a sad view, it would take a long time for those kids to have fun like this, not only were they going to miss both of their pets, but those who they now saw as part of their family.

* * *

"Yue? What is that which you wanted to ask me?" Zuko and Yue were now at the sacred shire; Katara wasn't there since she had some royal responsibilities. Yue pointed the pound and Zuko nodded, he went inside of the pound after taking his clothes off and rested there, the Koi Fishes greeted him and began swimming around him on an eternal dance. "I'm not that wounded, the citizens used their healing powers on me, I'm fine."

"I know, I just want you to regain your health as soon as possible so princess Katara can stop worrying this much about you." Zuko could barely believe in Yue's words, Katara had never shown any kind of kindness toward him, she always forced him into hard tasks or called him names. "Zuko… when are you going to be honest with her? She deserves to know about her brother, she misses him a lot, at least let her know he is still alive."

"No way…" Yue lowered her face, Zuko did the same. "If I told that to the princess… she would hate me even more since Sokka was my slave… she would also want to find him, and that's dangerous because of the civil war at my nation, I would never place Katara in such danger." Yue nodded. "Now all I want is to regain my health, so I can escape this place and look for him… once I find him… I will reunite him with princess Katara, I know that will never erase my sins… but at least I want both, Sokka and Katara… to be reunited… that's all I want…" Yue nodded once again and stared at Zuko.

"Sokka must be a great person." Zuko raised an eyebrow at Yue's words; Yue just walked toward the pound and sat down at its shore. "He and I are engaged, although we never met, our marriage was supposed to unify both poles and forge a society, we would finally be seen as a real country to the eyes of the world… I was afraid Sokka would be a bad person… but Zuko, you changed my mind."

"How come? I rarely speak about Sokka, the only one who knows he is still alive it's you, unless Katara had heard what I said while being unconscious two years ago when you girls found me." Yue moved her head in negation; Zuko still had his doubts though. "When I arrived… many said I was dead, but you asked your people to use the sacred water to heal my wounds… I don't know how you managed to save me from dead, but I do know I said the name of Sokka out loud, asking for him to forgive me."

"I swear, prince Zuko, I was alone when you said that last, although you only woke up four days later to meet the eyes of princess Katara." Yue giggled, Zuko rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I'm sure you can change her heart, I know Katara isn't the kind of girl she thinks she is, she has a kind heart and a weird motherly side, and she often takes care of me and cleans around for me even though I am the elder sister, that's the real Katara, I'm sure you will be able to discover her."

"…I am her slave… until I find a way to erase this scar from my face, as a man of my word, I accepted the terms of using this shire, I will forever be Katara's servant if needed… but there is a lot I need to do… I need to hurry; my heart must be fixed, not because of me but because of my nation… no matter how far away I am, I will always be Fire Nation…"

* * *

"Is everything ready?" Ty Lee questioned Sokka, who was pulling Eelen out of the barn with a lot of effort. "Eelen, I know you dislike the idea, but we need to go, we have no choice." Eelen moved her head in negation and fought Sokka back to the barn; Ty Lee took a deep breath and then petted Hawky's head, who was resting at Ty Lee's shoulder. "Why can't you be more compressive like Hawky? Such a stubborn Eel-Hound, she is just like her owner."

"Very funny, Eelen normally hears everything I say, Eel-Hounds are extremely loyal to their owners, it's just Eelen loves these kids a lot." Ty Lee nodded, Toph, who was half asleep, just ignored everything which was going on. "Eelen, I told you already, we are being hunted, those bandits could attack the kids to get us, and you don't want that, do you?"

"Why not staying and fighting them back? I also dislike the idea of running away." Sokka moved his head in negation, Toph just lowered her face, she cared a lot for those kids, and now, they were leaving. "At least we could live a peaceful life for a while, biggest vacations ever, come on Eelen, move your butt out of the barn." Eelen refused and buried herself inside of the barn. "Maybe we should leave her behind."

"What? No way! Piandao bought Eelen for me when she was an Eel-Puppy, I will never leave her behind!" Ty Lee placed a hand at Sokka's shoulder and pointed toward Toph, she was depressed, she disliked the idea as well. "…I guess someone needs to stay and keep the kids safe… fine… goodbye Eelen… let's go girls." They all nodded and began walking away, but Eelen grabbed Sokka by the collar and pulled him inside of the barn. "Eelen! Listen girl, you can stay if you want to, but I need to go, not only I want to protect the kids, but I need to finish my training." Eelen moved her head in negation but then went out of the barn and placed Sokka down. "Good girl, now… let's go." She nodded, and so, the group made their way out of the temple.

"Where should we go now? Kyoshi Island is at the southern region of the globe, arriving there will take us a month if we hurry." Sokka took his map out and searched for a better course of action, although all of his ideas ended in the same place, at the Southern Water Tribe. "Sokka, it could be dangerous."

"If you are thinking about going to the Southern Water Tribe… we can go if you want to…" Sokka stared at Toph when she said that last, the girl noticed Sokka's vibrations were directed toward her, and so, she moved her face away so Sokka wouldn't see it. "Yeah, well, whatever… it's not like you would stay there; remember you still have a promise to keep."

"But her highness, it is too dangerous, if their long lost prince is back to his tribe, think about it, the long lost prince who escaped the Fire Nation in the middle of a civil war and came back to his land after years of being missing, it could become a prophecy, the Water Tribe civilization is mostly based in prophecies and divine spirits… no offence, Sokka." He smiled and placed the map away.

"Don't be ridiculous girls; I will never go back… I am a man with no homeland… a mercenary… right now everything that matters is to continue with my training, we still have four years before leaving for the Earth Kingdom, there is a lot to do until that day arrives." Toph and Ty Lee both nodded, Sokka just leaded the march, choosing the most suitable route toward the Kyoshi Island. At the distance, way high and on top of one of the snowy peaks of the Patola Mountain Range, Yún stared at the group carefully, she had grown a lot and seemed stronger than ever, her sharp eyes shined with interest.

"You all have grown a lot, but you aren't ready yet… what can I do to help them? The spirits are now watching my every move; they are angered because of my previous interferences." A second figure nodded, he walked toward Yún and smiled. "Grandfather Aang, you said the spirits were watching me, my actions shouldn't anger them that much, after all, I am one who can pull the strings of fortune."

"Yún, you must understand you are the only one who understands the danger this world is going through, and it will be like that for many years." Yún nodded, but her determination-full look was never erased from her face. "There is no telling your actions will be able to change the future, that's something impossible, Yún, but you are still trying, only if you convince the spirit to help you, the future can be changed, but that is something hard to do, the spirits won't believe in your heart alone."

"Then, I will force the others to understand, that boy, Sokka, he is only running away from his heritage, it is about time I force him to think about his heritage, Avatar Kuruk will bring some sense into him." Avatar Aang was surprised to hear that last, he turned around as wanting to stop Yún's actions, but the girl was no longer there.

"What your heart dictates is hard to comprehend, Yún… calling a spirit back to the world is a difficult task only I can do… and even if you could… I wonder what kind of impact it would strike upon the young prince of the Water Tribe, to meet the person who began the war, his own blood, Avatar Kuruk… their meeting is now inevitable…"


	12. The Secret Behind the War

**Slavery Mark: Book Two – Air.**

**Chapter Two: The Secret Behind the War.**

* * *

"The fact of not having the five members of the Rough Rhinos attending this meeting, is something annoying, I expected more from you, Colonel Mongke." The leader of the Rough Rhinos gulped hard as he heard the sound of a whip hitting the wooden made floor of an empty tavern at the Earth Kingdom. The place was such a mess, and it was obvious a dispute had taken place, also, it was obvious as well, for Mongke at least, that his boss had taken care of everyone on her own. "My client is impatient, and so am I! Where is the Earth Kingdom Princess?" The woman whipped the floor close to Mongke's feet, the colonel was scared enough as not to make a move.

"We will find her! I promise! Now that we know who she is, she can't hide from us any longer! We now know she calls herself the 'Blind Bandit', and travels with a group of mercenaries! Please Lady June! Give us another chance! We won't fail you!" Mongke made a reverence as begging for June's forgiveness, the woman gave the colonel a poisonous smile, full with malice and interest.

"Next time, I won't be this generous, hunt them! Don't allow them to have a moment to rest! I want the princess, and I won't tolerate failure! I'm being paid generously for this job, and if you, Fire Nation mercenaries, fail me again! I will personally kill you all!" June then waved her hand for Mongke to leave, the colonel made a reverence and rushed out of the place. "Worthless mercenaries! It took me months to find that information, and they ruined everything in a single job!"

"I understand your concern, but this course of action was needed." June nodded and faced one of the corners of the supposedly empty room, a man wearing a red cloak was there, June walked toward him and stared at him with annoyance. "You did a good job tracking the group down, but unless it is extremely necessary, I must ask you not to hunt them down yourself, this matter should be Fire Nation alone."

"I understand, if I, the greatest mercenary of the Earth Kingdom, were to leave toward the Air Temples, the attention of every single mercenary would be placed on me, that would surely catch the eye of the Earth King, and in doing it so, it would place the Earth Princess in a ratter uncomfortable situation." The cloaked figure nodded, June just grabbed a random cup with alcohol from one of the tables and drank it empty. "I dislike working as intelligence, but as long as I'm paid, I won't complain."

"I did the right choice when asking you to help me with this job, we don't want the Fire Nation or the Earth Kingdom to know the princess is alive, and since the Rough Rhinos are working for no nation, they care little for what happens to the princess." June nodded and offered a random cup to the cloaked figure, who politely turned the offer down. "I appreciate it, but I would rather enjoy a cup of tea."

"We don't serve tea here old man, at any rate; it will be matter of time before someone finds everything out, and unless you explain your intentions to me openly, I won't cooperate for long, after all, it is the princess of my kingdom the one we are tracking down." The cloaked figure nodded, June just smiled and walked toward the door. "Oh, and just for you to know, I dislike it when people thinks they can spy on me, next time tell you niece to breath slowly." A second cloaked figure came out from her hiding spot at the second floor of the tavern, she faced June and saw her leaving, and once she made sure she wouldn't come back, she jumped down the second floor and walked toward the first cloaked figure.

"Uncle, I don't think I need to remind you I dislike this situation a lot, I don't understand your plan in the less, why asking a mercenary from the Earth Kingdom to hunt the Princess of her own kingdom and deliver it to us, Fire Nation? And also, why the princess? We should be looking for my brother." Azula said that last while taking her cloak off, her eyes reflected annoyance and concern at the same time, Iroh, the second cloaked figure, took his cloak off as well and just smiled for Azula. "I think I deserve some explanations."

"As impatient as usual, Azula, all I'm doing is in order to find the prince, Princess Toph Bei Fong is just an excuse, but also, a tactic advantage to prevent the imminent war." Azula rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in complete annoyance; Iroh just asked her to sit down and relax. "If we find Princess Toph Bei Fong, we will surely find her bodyguard, Sokka, the Prince of the Water Tribe." Azula's eyes widened, Iroh had hit the spot of Azula's interest. "When Zuko was supposedly killed, we both saw a ship from the Water Tribe sailing away from our nation, as well as a river of blood near its location."

"That tells us nothing uncle! To where I know they could be fishing tributes toward our nation! How can you actually believe they found Zuko's body, and if they did, there is no hope left for Zuko, those savages may have killed him already." Iroh moved his head in negation; Azula just fought her angry-full tears back to her eyes. "This is useless; we have no clues and are plotting a secret conspiracy against our own nation just because we believe Zuko is alive."

"We don't just believe prince Zuko is alive, we know he is." Azula moved her head in negation; Iroh took a deep breath and continued. "Azula, I can't explain it to you, but I have probes, Zuko is alive, but finding him will be of no use if we don't find Princess Toph and Prince Sokka as well, in order to find peace, we need them all."

"That's enough, uncle Iroh! I'm sick of all this! First you convince me Zuko may have survived, and then you take me away from my nation to look for him, I understand until that part, but then you say we must find the Princess of the Earth Kingdom, a princess everyone thought had died during the civil war, and to make it worse, you ask me to look for that traitor, that person who not only lied to us all but also broke my heart into pieces!" Iroh scratched the back of his head not understanding what was Azula talking about involving her broken heart, but he paid it no mind and remained in silence. "How did you find it all out? About Sokka as the Prince of the Water Tribe… I barely knew he was a slave, when you told me who he really was, I couldn't believe it… my father's original plan could have resurrected, this madness could be avoided."

"I keep my secrets, Azula, but that doesn't mean I don't trust you." Azula nodded and bit her lips trying not to break into tears, ever since Iroh took her away from her nation; Azula's heart has softened a lot, although she still kept many aspects of her old personality. "The best way to end this war is find the Princess of the Earth Kingdom and the Prince of the Water Tribe, once that is done, Sokka will surely lead us toward Zuko." Azula nodded, Iroh scratched his chin with concern. "Although, once we find them all, there are many things we can do; the problem is finding the proper course of action."

"If we help Sokka back to the Water Tribe, they will have another excuse to invade the Fire Nation." Iroh nodded. "And if we help the Princess, the king will join forces with the Fire Nation and eradicate the Water Tribe… wherever you see it, war is imminent."

"There are two more choices we have, but let's not worry about them until we have found everyone, if we want peace; we need all the help we can get." Azula nodded and stood up; Iroh smiled and placed his hand at her shoulder. "When the moment finally comes, maybe you will have another chance with the person you love." She blushed and pushed Iroh to the floor. "What did I say?"

"Stupid old man! Quit making fun of me! Once I find that stupid prince I will burn him crispy! To hell with peace or war, I just want self-satisfaction! And I will find breaking his jaw to be awfully satisfactory!" Iroh was puzzled but paid it no mind, there was a lot that needed to be done, and he was just glad Azula was able to understand his vision about a world with no war.

* * *

At the Patola Mountain Range, the small group of mercenaries was getting closer to the Southern Air Temple, which was their first stop before finally heading for Kyoshi Island in search for a master for Sokka. Since Toph was forbidden to set foot at the Earth Kingdom, it was needed for the group to find a safe location for her while Sokka went training. "There it is! The Southern Air Temple, what better place to be safe from the other mercenaries than a temple full with peaceful monks?"

"I still think we should find them and kick their butts, and why do I have to stay with the monks all alone while you and Ty Lee leave for Kyoshi Island?" They had discussed it earlier, but Toph of course wasn't convinced. "Hear my words, Ty Lee, if you start flirting with Sokka while doing your supposed training, I will never forgive you!"

"What? But your highness! I would never… I mean I don't… well, maybe just a little, but you can't seriously be thinking this is some kind of secret plan to make my moves on your boyfriend." Sokka lowered his face and slapped his own forehead; this was such a usual discussion between the two female members of the mercenary's group. "He already rejected me once anyway, there is nothing for you to worry about, besides, I look forward to nothing else but your happiness, I would never place my feelings in the way!"

"Yeah, right! You still shiver like a little girl on her birthday each time he speaks to you! What kind of trust can I place upon you when I can feel those lovey-dovey vibrations?" Ty Lee was hurt, she was awfully loyal toward Toph, and her princess still believed she would actually flirt with Sokka when Toph wasn't there. "I'm not saying I don't trust you, I'm just saying I find this whole situation to be quiet convenient for a secret romance."

"That's the same as not trusting me at all! Your highness! Don't be so mean toward me! I would never do such a thing!" Toph rolled her blind eyes in annoyance, Ty Lee's only useful eye watered. "Your highness, you are so mean! I would never betray your trust! You are everything I believe and fight for!"

"Yeah, whatever, I believe in your words, quit sobbing already; I just wanted to have some fun since I'm bored." Ty Lee cleaned the tears away from her eye, Toph just smiled teasingly toward her. "I don't need to feel any vibrations to know you are still crying, relax, it was just a joke."

"I'm just glad her highness was only joking! I would never be able to live with myself if I ever failed you! I'm so glad! I think I need a new eye patch, this one is all wet…" Toph laughed at Ty Lee's innocence and loyalty, Sokka just ignored them both and continued riding toward the mountain the temple was at, many Flying Bisons were easily seen at the distance, which of course was a wonder to the eyes of Sokka and Ty Lee, Toph, however, could only hear weird noises from on top of her head. "I never thought I was ever going to see this many Flying Bisons in my whole life! This is great!"

"Whatever. If you've seen nothing once, you've seen it a thousand times." Ty Lee and Sokka exchanged sad looks after remembering Toph was blind and couldn't see the many creatures flying around, which sort of saddened them.

"Oh man, you've never not seen anything like this!" Toph raised an eyebrow after feeling the weird vibrations coming from Sokka and Ty Lee, the creatures flying around all landed in front of the strangers approaching to the temple, seeing a Flying Bison was something, seeing this many so close was frightening. "I will handle this." Ty Lee and Toph nodded. "We come at peace!" They slammed their own foreheads hard. "We are friends of Monk Gyatso, and would like to ask from your elders the same hospitality he kindly gave to us." And then, Sokka made a reverence Air nomad's style. The monks shared some words, no one but nomads where allowed at the temple.

"We will gladly offer you a place to stay." The only female member of the Air Nomads, who came and greeted the mercenaries, spoke out, and every other monk remained in silence. "My name is Yún, monk Gyatso is like a father to me, a friend of Monk Gyatso is a friend of mine, I will gladly hear what you have to say." The group was relieved, after such a long trip, having somewhere to stay was a pleasure. "Your Giant-Eel-Hound will have to stay at our barn down the mountain, the only way to reach the temple is on top of a Flying Bison, I will take you up myself, please, climb on Appa and accept my hospitality." Appa was Yún's personal bison and the oldest of them all, his hair was messy, but at the same time fixed with many ponytails, once he noticed the people about to climb him, he licked one of them, Sokka, until leaving him surrounded with saliva. "Appa!"

"This… is gross… extremely gross…" Ty Lee and Toph made fun of Sokka and then climbed the bison; Sokka cleaned the nasty liquid away and climbed the bison as well. "We appreciate your help, we are travelers in search for knowledge, we travel around the four nations seeking for great martial arts masters, unfortunately, our companion, Toph, can't travel to Kyoshi Island with us, and we needed to find a place for her to stay, since she is blind, we thought an air temple would be the best choice."

"You were lucky I was there to welcome you, the Southern Air Temple is a boy's only temple, I am allowed here only because of my position as great monk, otherwise, no girls are allowed." Ty Lee and Toph crossed their arms in annoyance, Yún smiled at them both. "I hate that rule as well, that's why I wanted to invite you to the temple, and having some female company will surely be nice… now, hold on to something because we are about to fly, Appa, yip yip!"

"Wait, what do you mean fly? Wait, Flying Bison… no way, I won't do this!" Toph tried to climb the animal down, but she hadn't noticed they were already flying around the air temple, Ty Lee and Sokka pulled Toph back to the animal and tried to help her relax, but the blind girl now felt no vibrations and felt completely blind. "Are we there yet? Please, tell me we are already there! I hate flying! I want to go down!" Ty Lee smiled and hugged Toph protectively, which was one of her favorite responsibilities as her guardian.

"Isn't she cute when she's scared? I could get used to this! Fly around the temple for a while longer if you want to, you will hear no complaints from me." Yún smiled softly as she saw Toph hugging Ty Lee back strongly, this was too much for the blind girl, but Yún decided to please Ty Lee, after all, Yún knew more about these strangers than what everyone thought, and so, she thought Ty Lee deserved the opportunity to enjoy it for a while longer.

"This is amazing! How can this thing fly? The first time I saw a Flying Bison I couldn't believe my eyes, and now after years of having seen none, I see this many and all flying around." Hawky, who was at Sokka's shoulder, just faced away in annoyance, Sokka laughed at the situation and rubbed Hawky's head. "I know, I feel the same way, the sky was made for the birds, not for the bisons, just imagine what would happen if they had to go, that would be a nasty accident."

"Flying Bisons, or Sky Bisons as many call them, are proud and educated; they would never do something like that." Yún giggled at the thought, Ty Lee and Toph were both grossed out. "We are about to hit land, get ready, because Appa and I like doing this the rough way!" Toph hugged Ty Lee strongly, Ty Lee couldn't help but complain about her ribs, but it would only last for a few seconds, since she would soon ignore the pain and hug Toph back, Yún asked Appa to fly way up toward the sky, leaving the temple behind as a dot on the top of a mountain. "Having fun?" Everyone moved their heads in negation as the girl asked Appa to go down. "Now, let's show these tourists how we fly at the Air Temples!"

"We are gonna die!" Appa flew down at an incredible speed, freaking everyone out, although Yún was enjoying it quite a lot, the old Sky Bison then slowed his speed down and landed carefully, but Sokka, Ty Lee, and Toph, were all so freaked out as to notice they were already safe, they continued yelling despite the trip being over. "Are we dead? Am I at the spirit's world?"

"Well, you can call this place as one of the closest places to the spirit world, but you aren't there yet." Sokka finally opened his eyes and saw how many monks were fighting their laughter, Yún, as usual, managed to put a smile on everyone's faces, everyone minus the group just arriving. "Welcome to the Southern Air Temple! Please make yourself at home!" She jumped down the old Appa and then hugged him. "Who is my cute bison? You are just as strong as usual! Grandpa would be proud of you!"

"I knew that bison was familiar!" Sokka said while having a hard time climbing the bison down. "That's the Avatar's Bison! So that's why he licked me like he did when we arrived!" Yún blinked twice as faking having no idea, but in reality, she knew Sokka and Appa had met in the past since she had been observing them for quite a while already.

"Are we there yet?" Said Toph dizzily as she and Ty Lee were still recovering from the shock, Yún fought her laughter as the two girls tried to climb down and many monks went to their aid. "That was the worst experience in my whole life!"

"I promise not to do it again… today." Toph felt like killing Yún for that last, but Ty Lee hugged her from behind and interrupted her intentions. "Take the girls to my hunt, give them some appropriate clothes and prepare them for their sanctification, Pasang may want to meet our male guest." The monks all nodded and took Ty Lee and Toph away, Yún just asked Sokka to follow her. "Pasang is the head of the Monk's Council, we of the Air Nomads tribe don't believe in politics, unfortunately, in order to represent our culture toward the rest of the nations, the council was created, I guess it is true what they say, there are only two things that can't be prevented, dead and politics."

"I can second that, almost everything seems to run around politics." Sokka followed Yún toward the temple, but took his time to admire the beauty of the place the nomads lived at; it was so different from what he believed it would be. "When I studied about Air Nomad's way of life, I never imagined this; I thought everyone was going to be meditating and seeking for the equilibrium between their souls and their bodies, sacrificing it all to please the spirits."

"That's ancient history, Monk Gyatso changed our way of life drastically, thanks to his new philosophy, and the help of Avatar Aang, we learned the equilibrium between the body and the spirit was easier when being in harmony with the world, and that harmony could only be possible by breaking the chains of routine and opening our mind to new possibilities." Yún then pointed at the many kids playing around and sharing everything they had with their equals, no one was better or worse than any other, everyone was exactly the same. "There is no sin at our civilization, no one is worse or better than any other, although I must say, and admit, that we are sometimes competitive and seek for more knowledge or become better at something than someone else, but as long as we are in equilibrium, and never show off our potential or criticize others, we can still live at peace."

"Sweet, but where is the fun on not showing off here and then?" Yún giggled but gave Sokka no reply. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to be offensive; I just think I will never get used to a way of life like that one, I always seek for more, I want to be the best warrior I can be, because there is something I want to do… no… something I need to do… it must be great to be a monk, have no worries or pains, live at peace and try to seek a spiritual equilibrium… I wish I could do that."

"This life isn't suitable for everyone, some have no choice but follow these rules, trust me, I know." Sokka understood what Yún was talking about, but said nothing. "We don't have the fault to be born as we are today, but we can always change what was written by the spirits, and once your meeting with Pasang is over, I will show it to you." Sokka wanted to question Yún about what was last said, but the huge temple doors being opened widely for him to go inside silenced him. "Don't worry, everything will be clear soon." And after saying that last, Yún left the room, leaving Sokka in front of the five members of the Monk's Council.

* * *

At the Water Tribe, the former prince of the Fire Nation and now a slave of the Water Tribe, was dealing with the annoying task of helping Katara with the shopping, the princess had many servants who would normally do this job for her, but since she disliked Zuko quiet a lot, she always forced him to do this, and also, she did enjoy shopping herself. "With all respect, my princess, isn't this too many for a dinner? You are expecting no visitors at the palace, buying this much food is a waste."

"I don't remember ever asking you to speak to me, remain in silence unless I say so." Zuko bit his lips in annoyance, and then noticed the smell of burned meat, his anger was forcing his firebending to burn the food he was carrying, he quickly left the food at the floor and then buried his hands inside of the snow, melting it, but preventing an accident fired by his anger.

"How annoying can she be? One of these days I won't be able to hold my anger." Zuko took the food up once again and followed Katara around the market place, he was still annoyed, he was supposed to be looking for a way to restore his damaged heart instead of playing the shopping with the annoying princess. "Soon, I will find a way…and when I find it, I will look for you, Sokka, I made a promise, to reunite you with your family, and no matter how long it takes me, I will definitively do it." Zuko's march was then interrupted by Katara, the girl was holding a yellow, almost gold, colored apple for Zuko. "Katara, this is too much, I don't think you and Yue can eat this much on your own."

"This isn't for me, it's for you." Zuko was surprised to hear that last, and then was even more surprised when noticing Katara's cheeks were winning a reddish color. "This apple… is said to be good for the heart… if you eat it, it may be of help…" Zuko was unable to believe it, Katara just faced away while holding the apple for Zuko to take it. "What are you waiting for? Take it!" Zuko nodded slowly and took the apple away from Katara's hand; he couldn't help himself and blushed. "The faster you recover… the faster you can find a way to erase that scar… and the fastest you do that… the fastest you will be out of my life…"

"Umm… well… thank you anyway…" Zuko smiled, Katara blushed even harder but turned around and walked away in annoyance. "You were right, Sokka… she does have a kind heart… but she is still an annoying and troublesome girl." Zuko then was about to follow Katara and continue with the shopping, when he suddenly felt something odd running through his spine. "The Winter's Solstice, it finally arrived… the spirits are already running around the world… I will pray for them to take care of Sokka… please protect him… Blue Spirit."

* * *

"The Winter's Solstice finally arrived… I have only got a chance to do this… I better not waste it…" Yún was now at one of the many sacred chambers of the Southern Air Temple, the one with the many stone figures with the past avatars, the past lives of her grandfather, what she wanted to do here was something no one, not even the Avatar, had tried, and that was replace her body and soul, with the one of a past incarnation of the current Avatar. "Spirits who rule my existence, today I speak to you in representation of Aang, the Avatar, who I'm bounded to share his blood with, I seek for your blessing, allow my body and soul to travel to the world of the spirits, and allow Avatar Kuruk to return from the dead, just for today, until the solstice is over… bring him back and let him speak with his own blood, the one tying the strings of fortune." The eyes of the many statues of the Avatar all shinned with an incredible light, Yún never gave a step back, she just stared at the eyes of Kuruk with determination.

"You, who have angered the spirits, are brave to ask for such a favor!" Yún seemed to know the owner of that voice since it was coming from Kuruk's statue. "But I will return to your world, since there is a message I need to deliver, but I won't return without punishing you first for your betrayal toward the spiritual world."

"Take my flesh and bones and turn them into stone, I am ready for my punishment, I always have, and I always will, there is a lot I need to answer for." The statue of Kuruk seemed to nod in agreement, and so the stone began gaining color and form, it slowly came back to life. But as the stone was resurrecting, Yún was being punished, being turned into stone by the same magic resurrecting Kuruk. "Now, I will pay for my sins…" And she said no more, she couldn't anyway, her lips and whole body was turned into a sad looking statue of stone.

* * *

"Allow me to understand what you are trying to say, you, my friend, are traveling around the world with the Earth Princess in order to fulfill a prophecy from an old fortune teller who found you at the beach after the civil war at the Fire Nation took place?" The monks of the council were all disturbed by the revelation, Sokka just nodded and waited for the great monk, Pasang, to take a decision. "Your sincerity is a blessing, but your mission, a burden to you and those who offer their aid, why would we protect your secret and help you in your mission?"

"…Because I have no one else I can trust…" The monks all remained in silence and waited, Sokka just continued. "The war already began, and it will only grow bigger, the responsibility I'm carrying is huge, and I have to think everything carefully, something I'm not used to do, if I make a mistake, it could be lethal…" The monks once again said nothing, Sokka continued. "Protecting the princess is hard, if I take her back to the Fire Nation, there is no telling of what they will do to her, and if I take her to the Earth Kingdom, they will ally their army with the Fire Nation and the war will grow bigger, all that is left is wait for the princess to reach her 16 birthday, just then will she be able to take the throne and end this war."

"Or, make it bigger." One of the five monks mentioned, Sokka bit his lips after already knowing one was going to figure that possibility out. "If the princess returns after many years of being lost, the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom could enter a conflict that would destroy the remaining nations, and leave no winner behind." The other monks nodded, but Sokka complained.

"With Princess Toph taking the throne, war can be prevented, she is kind hearted and strong, she would never push her country toward war, besides, the Fire Nation army would never defeat the Earth Kingdom one, it would be insane to attack such a powerful nation." The monks went into silence once again. "Please… I'm doing everything I can to stop this madness… to save my nation… my tribe… and the home of many I care for… the less I want is see this world consumed by war, no matter how much of a proud warrior I am." Sokka lowered his face, Pasang found that to be of his interest.

"Let's say we help you… we take care of your princess and wait until you finish your training… what will happen next? Will you stay and wait until she is sixteen?" Sokka moved his head in negation, Pasang played with his beard while thinking. "Then, will you take her away and seek for a new master?" Sokka nodded. "I see… you will only ask for our help as long as your need this training at Kyoshi Island."

"Staying at the same place for so long is dangerous, no matter how peaceful it may be, wherever we are we only cause trouble, I'm asking for your help, only during the time I'm training." Pasang stared at Sokka's eyes directly, the young warrior shivered with fear, but he tried hard not to allow his weakness to be seen and calmed down.

"The Southern Air Temple will take care of the Princess of the Earth Kingdom." Sokka smiled hard at that last, the remaining monks, however, weren't pleased with the news. "But, as long as you are away from the temple, Yún will have to train your princess in order for her to learn our culture, that's what we ask as retribution." Sokka nodded. "We of the Air Nomad culture seek peace with peaceful means, we have our hopes placed on your princess, with our aid, she may become the ruler the Earth Kingdom needs."

"I appreciate it! I promise not to fail your trust!" Sokka said with perhaps too much enthusiasm, but once he noticed what he had just done, he apologized, made a reverence, and left the temple. "That was harder than what it thought it would be… well, I guess Toph will be mad at me, but it can't be helped, it isn't like I had much to choose from."

"…Oh, but you had, you could have chosen your tribe among the other choices…" Sokka was startled by the reply, he turned around and found there a person wearing clothes from his tribe, he blinked twice and then rubbed his eyes, not actually believing in them. "Sokka, you have failed your tribe, and disappointed the spirits; I am here to try and bring some sense inside of your troubled mind."

"Ok, I guess I shouldn't have drink that wine before leaving Gyatso's temple, it is still messing up with my mind, I'm seeing things, for a second there I thought Avatar Kuruk was talking to me, I need some good sleep." But when turning around, Sokka noticed his dream was weirder than what he was expecting, the whole place was frozen, no one was moving, and their bodies were all grey, he rubbed his eyes as trying to fix the view, but it was of no use. "Okay, this is worse than I thought, no more wine for me, I'm retired."

"This isn't a dream, Sokka, I am Avatar Kuruk, and with my power, I took you away from the world of humans, and took you to a different existence, one between your world and the spiritual world." Sokka then noticed many eyes were watching him carefully. "You have caught the attention of the spirits, and they are following your every move, it is in your hands the destiny of this world."

"You sure I'm not dreaming?" Kuruk gave Sokka an angry-full stare, Sokka breathed out in defeat. "How can this actually be possible? I mean, it has no logic, you died centuries ago, and now you are here, speaking to me, it makes no sense! Years ago I would have thought of this as a prophecy! The great Avatar Kuruk comes from the world of the dead to speak to the last member following his blood line and encouraging him to lead his army to war, but today, I don't know what to believe anymore."

"I don't know either, Sokka, for many generations, your family has followed my steps, they were supposed to look for the supremacy of their element, but you and your mother, you betrayed my trust and looked forward to finding a different way." Sokka flinched at the thought, Kuruk was the one starting the war, and now, the one who was trying to prevent it was just in front of his eyes. "I am… pleased for your actions, Sokka, you have made me proud."

"…Ah…?" Sokka's jaw dropped, Kuruk was smiling toward him and placing a caring hand at his shoulder as trying to encourage him to continue with his mission. "Wait! Let's start from the beginning; you were the one who began the war." Kuruk nodded. "Our tribe continued with the war because of your teachings." Once again Kuruk nodded. "Then my mother refuses to continue with the war, and I, after a lot of time of suffering an identity crisis, finally decide I don't want war and that I want to stop it, and now you are proud of me? For the love of everything that is logical! What in the world is going on?"

"This war was the biggest mistake I ever committed, and I will pay for eternity because of the many lives I ended, even as we speak, my soul is being consumed by the sorrow of those who left this world because of my madness." Sokka flinched at the thought, that destiny could have being his own. "In order for you to understand the reasons behind the war, I would like you to follow me on a trip toward my past, that is, if your heart still believes in my legend."

Kuruk offered his hand to Sokka, the young warrior had his doubts about accepting the offering, Kuruk was, after all, the representation of what Sokka once thought was right, war, conquer, wildness, everything he left behind thanks to Piandao's aid. "…I have been running away for so long… it is about time I quit being such a weakling and move forward… show me… why did this war began…" Sokka grabbed Kuruk's hand, and the spiritual energy from the avatar transported them both back in time, toward the days of Avatar Kuruk, the tyrant who began the war more than 500 years ago.

"Sokka, you have given me a chance to explain it all to you, and I won't disappoint you, from now and on, what you will see is nothing but the true behind the war." Sokka rubbed his head as trying to scare a headache away, traveling through time, even if everything was only a vision, was painful for someone who wasn't an Avatar. "500 years ago, I was just as any other Avatar, young, and carefree, with nothing to worry about but finding a way to have fun." Sokka then saw before his eyes, a young and strong Avatar Kuruk surfing huge waves he had bended only for fun. "Do you know this place?"

"No… not at all… but I don't need to be a genius to know this is the Northern Water tribe." Kuruk's life began at the North Pole, but the tales of his tyranny began at the South Pole, since it was ancient history, little were the ones knowing why Kuruk actually pushed the South Pole to war. "A celebration is taking place? What kind of festival is this one?"

"A festival your tribe no longer celebrates because of me, it was a beautiful one involving the two tribes." Sokka then noticed many Water Tribe ships from the South Pole sailing toward the North one, Kuruk was surfing around them and waving his hand at the many ladies sailing inside. "The New Moon Celebration, it takes place at the first full moon of the New Year. Each year it is celebrated at a different pole, this time it was at my home, that day I met her." Sokka then saw a young and beautiful woman walking down one of the many ships; Kuruk came to her and offered his hand to her, helping her down while blushing madly. "…Ummi… it would surprise you what someone does because of love."

"Tell me about it, I'm still suffering because of my engagement with Toph." Sokka then rubbed the metal made armband he was wearing and smiled. "…Ummi looks a lot like my mother…" Kuruk nodded and asked Sokka to follow him into a new trip toward the past, one closer to the present. "Are we at the past's future?"

"Although it sounds odd, you are right." A year after the New Moon Celebration took place, our tribe traveled to the Southern Water Tribe to celebrate once again, there, I found Ummi once again, it was perhaps the best day of my whole life, the day I revealed my feelings for her." Kuruk then forced another time travel, Sokka was confused by that last. "After going back home, I never expected Ummi was now pregnant with my first and only son."

"That explains the sudden time travel." Kuruk gave Sokka an odd stare; he smiled awkwardly and tried to change the subject. "…Eh… well… forget what I was saying, all this is pretty nice but, there is something I don't understand, if you were from the Northern Water Tribe… how come it was the Southern Water Tribe the one involved in the conflict?"

"Patience, everything will soon be revealed, first, we must travel toward the next New Moon Celebration." And so they did, Kuruk was at the sacred shire of the Northern Water Tribe, Ummi, now Kuruk's new wife was by his side. "The next New Moon Celebration, Ummi surprised me with the news of my first son being born, I don't think I need to mention I was surprised, now I had a son, and I was supposed to take care of him, and so, that night, Ummi and I were married, with the spirits of the ocean and the moon as witnesses. But we were both unaware of a third witness being there."

From the sacred shire, a huge bug like creature came out, a giant centipede, with a huge number of faces. "Koh! The face stealer!" Kuruk was surprised about Sokka's knowledge of such legend; this knowledge was most likely Piandao's doing. "I read about it at one of my master's books, it is said that if Koh sees the sightless expression forming on your face, it will steal it."

"That night… he stole my wife from me." Sokka then saw horrified how Ummi was stripped from her face, and Koh ran into the spirit's shire and disappeared, leaving behind a heartbroken Kuruk, and a crying baby. "My whole life, I tried to find a way to open the gates toward the spiritual world, and many times I did, but it wasn't something simple, it took a great amount of power to open those gates, a power I didn't have."

"Then you thought about the supremacy of your element." Sokka had figured it out; Kuruk remained in silence, and allowed Sokka to continue. "The four elements… Fire… Air… Water… Earth… they are always at equilibrium… but that equilibrium can be broken…"

"Seeking the supremacy of the element, nice doing Sokka, you have studied a lot, that master of yours did wonders from you." Sokka nodded, Kuruk continued. "The elements are supposed to be even at power, but… if an element grows in power, the others are weakened, if I wanted to be able to open the gates toward the spiritual world freely, I needed my element to be stronger… it was something selfish, and it was all decided with a coin toss.

"…Wait… what?" Kuruk faced away ashamed. "You mean everything! The war! The supremacy of the element! The way of life I have today! Was all decided in a freaking coin toss!" Kuruk nodded, Sokka slapped his own forehead in annoyance. "Well that's just great! My whole life is the result of a coin toss!"

"Save your sarcasm for someone who isn't willing to accept his sins… I know I did wrong… leaving it all to luck… if the result happened to be any different, I would have never tried to find the supremacy of my element." Sokka was furious, all the legends of the great Kuruk and his tyranny were nothing but a game, but there was no use on complaining today, everything was already done. "I left it all to luck, and I'm cursed because of my idiocy, as you may have noticed, we, the Kuruk, aren't that bright sometimes… I went to the great council that day, and spoke to the queen and king, they refused to start an unnecessary war, the supremacy of the element was of no importance to them, those were times of peace, war was only a kid's game, but I had already taken a decision."

"And after knowing the king and queen from your tribe weren't going to cooperate… you tricked my tribe into believing in your supremacy." Kuruk was ashamed, Sokka was awfully annoyed. "Such a simple strategy, to convince those who saw you as a god into going to war for you, with the Avatar by their side there was nothing to lose, the first victims would be the firebenders who were weak against us, that would give us the upper hand, or so you thought, you never expected the Earth Kingdom to aid the Fire Nation."

"…I didn't…" Sokka was disgusted, for many years, he grew up wanting to be like Avatar Kuruk, only to find out the awful reality behind the war, a stupid plan to gain enough power to travel toward the spiritual world and seek for revenge. "Many died because of my doings, but the reason behind these time travels aren't because I want you to pity me… now, you have the power to stop everything I did wrong, not because of me, but because it is what your tribe deserves… you and your sister, both who carry my blood, have the power to change the strings tying the future ahead… it won't be easy, but I'm sure you can do it."

"And why would I?" Kuruk remained in silence. "Everything I believed in and fought for when I was a Water Tribe Prince was nothing but lies and selfishness! Everything I fought for when I was a Fire Nation slave was turned into ashes! And now everything I love and promised to protect will be destroyed because you, a spirit who died more than 500 years ago, wants me to become the hero who will save the world from calamity! I thought that was what I wanted! But now that I know I have this polluted blood running through my veins, I know I am a no one, and will never be able to become the hero I wanted to… I'm a failure… thanks a lot, Kuruk, you do know how to destroy the world!"

"I deserve all that and more… but Sokka, you are wrong… just because I failed miserably, it doesn't mean you will… we may share the same blood, but our heart is different… mine was weak… yours… is strong… and once you learn not to escape from your heritage, you will become the hero this world needs… that's all I need to say… take care… Sokka…" Kuruk's body then vanished immersed in a mist, and Sokka's eyes turned blank, he lost conscience, and went back to his world.

* * *

"The gate between the worlds is closing… Avatar Kuruk is returning to the spirit world… and my punishment is finally over…" Yún's stone made body was slowly returning to normal, and she was never more pleased to be back to be a monk, her pain was finally over. When her body was restored, her knees weren't strong enough as to keep her standing; she fell toward the stone made floor and hugged her knees hard, she was shivering, while Kuruk was away and teaching ancient history to Sokka, Yún was punished because of her interference. "Cold… I'm… cold… I thought I was ready for my punishment… but I was wrong… at least now… the spirits are no longer watching me… I can once again… try to change the strings of fortune… I will enrage the spirits again… but for a couple of years I will be safe." Yún tried to stand up, but her weakness once again forced her toward her knees. "…Kuruk… I hope you enjoyed your freedom… at last, as long as the solstice lasted… you were free from your punishment… since I was there to take your place…"

Yún then noticed the body of Sokka laying a few feet from where she was, the once proud warrior opened his eyes slowly, finally waking up at his own timeline. "Where… where am I?" Yún fought her pain hard and tried to walk toward Sokka, but the pain was indescribable, and she ended on the floor again. "Yún?" Sokka stood up and went toward Yún's aid; the girl gladly accepted the help. "I guess this means my travel toward the spirits world was your doing."

"I guess I'm guilty… yes… it was my doing… I managed to open the gate toward the spiritual world for Kuruk to speak with you…" Sokka was worried about Yún's state and wanted to take her out of the temple, but the girl refused. "Don't… no healer will be able to help me right now… since it is my soul the one in pain."

"Your soul… yes… I guess I can believe that now…" Yún took her staff and used it to help herself up. "I thought going to the spirit's world was hard, how did you managed to go inside? Kuruk began the war because he could rarely open the gates toward the spirit world."

"Opening those gates is easier now days, because since Kuruk passed away, there is always someone opening the door from the other side." Kuruk's passing away made that possible, now his spirit can open the gates for each Avatar wanting to go inside, something he never enjoyed when he was still alive. "But also, the reason I was allowed to open the gates was because the spirits wanted to punish me so badly… otherwise, they would have never opened the gates to someone who wasn't the current Avatar."

"Punish you? Why would the spirits want to punish you? Did you enrage them in some way?" Yún nodded but delivered a soft smile. "That's something hard to believe, considering you are a monk and all that.

"I'm a monk, that's why they are this angry at me… I was supposed to serve them, but instead, I gave my back to them in order to save my life and the life of many… and I will keep defying them, in order for this world to exist." Sokka of course didn't understand that last. "My problems don't deserve your concern, you must concentrate on your mission and your mission alone, mine is a task beyond yours, and in order for my task to be fulfilled, yours needs to be successful… so… what will you do now that you know the origins of this war?"

"I guess I should toss a coin and find it out." Yún stared at Sokka with curiosity as the once Water Tribe prince took a coin from out of his pocket, threw it and caught it but left his hand closed. "If it is the Fire Nation emblem… the Slavery Mark… I will do everything in my power to stop this war and prevent more slavery… but if it is tails… I will give up… and escape… I will leave everything behind… my heritage, my life, the promises I made… Toph included…"

"Will you really follow the path the coin points at? Why would you do such a thing?" Yún had no idea, but this was now Sokka's way to figure out many things. "A coin toss shouldn't mark your destiny, you know it."

"…I know…" But despite his words, Sokka opened his hand and revealed tails. Yún's eyes widened, her hard work, her pain, her punishment, were all for nothing. "…Then it is settled… I will do everything in my power to stop the Fire Nation…" Yún was surprised to hear that last; Sokka just threw the coin out from one of the temple's windows and closed his eyes. "Kuruk… everything you said to me, was a disappointment… but… you were right at the end… you and I are different… I won't allow a coin to dominate my actions… no matter how dirty my blood is… I will clean it… I swear I will."

"That was scary! I thought my effort was of no use! I'm just twelve years old and this whole mess is already killing me… how annoying." Sokka smiled, Yún returned the smile. "Pay me no mind, all you need to know is we are working for the same goal."

"Right! And thanks… your little trick did open my eyes… but just a little; there is a lot that I still need to think about, specially about my heritage." Sokka then rubbed the necklace that once was his mother's most precious object. "In the meantime, I will head to Kyoshi Island and learn Aikido, please take care of Toph while I'm off. Yún nodded, Sokka then began his preparation, tomorrow, he would depart for Kyoshi Island.


	13. Those who the Spirits are Watching

**Slavery Mark: Book Two – Air.**

**Chapter Three: Those who the Spirits are Watching.**

* * *

The Northern Water Tribe is a place that has known peace for quite some time already, always avoiding the conflicts instead of getting involved, such were the teachings passed down to its citizens from the words of the spirits ruling these peaceful lands. Still, no matter how peaceful this civilization might look like, there is something that they can't forget, and that is the wildness of the blood running around their veins, wildness that centuries ago, tied the origins of their civilization, and helped them adapt to the inhospitable region they would one day call home.

However, this wildness just served the role of planting the seed of their civilization's tree, and it grew until having two ramifications, these would one day be known as the Northern and Southern Water Tribes. One grew to be a peaceful tribe, searching for knowledge and wisdom in order to resolve their conflicts, guiding their actions by the words of the spirits. The other one grew by the art of war, seeking supremacy over the other tribes and becoming a fearless civilization. Both were brother civilizations that took different paths, but both couldn't ignore something vital, and that was what planted their origins, no matter how many centuries have passed by, no matter how different their civilizations are, both, are always tied by their wildness, and that was something both civilizations were close to realizing.

This was a lesson Prince Zuko, a foreign citizen trying to adapt to this land's culture, wanted to learn, this was a world much different from his own, a world he wanted to understand, a world he wanted to be able to call home. "I have trained so hard for this day… my heart is still weak and I can't endure much time… but I must definitively do this… I want to be a man… no… I need to be a man… just then will she stop treating me like a slave… princess Katara, watch carefully, today I will definitively, become a man…" Zuko's weak heart stopped once he noticed the huge metal made doors began opening, this was it, the moment he had trained so hard for, with a furious yell, Zuko entered some kind of arena, many citizens of the Water Tribe cheered for him and wished him the best of lucks.

From the other side of the arena, another warrior came out, but different from Zuko, who was wearing only the usual Water Tribe tunic, this warrior was wearing a blue armor with the carving of the moon adorning his chest. "Well, well, look at what do we have here, the slave Tsuko, are you ready to having me humiliate you once again? I pity your bad luck; after all, I have already defeated you for two consecutive years, if this keeps going you will never become a man." Zuko bit his lips as trying to control his anger, but then a strong pain on his chest prevented him from staying on his feet and he kneeled at the cold snow. "I see your heart is as weak as usual, what a pity, I was planning on having some fun making you look like a fool, Tsuko."

"Shut your trap already Hann, and it's Zuko, not Tsuko, today it will be different, even if my heart is wounded, I'm sure it works better than yours, I don't care if you are a two level warrior, I will definitively, become a man today." The sound of cheers filled the air, and both warriors readied their weapons, Zuko prepared his bone lance, his adversary, Hann, readied a silver made sword with no edge.

"Fine, this is enough, I have no clue of what is going on here." From the podium the judges where at, Princess Katara of the Water Tribe questioned Princess Yue, it was her first time as a judge for these games, and it was also the first time she took part of the festivities of the day after the winter's solstice, so there were many things she didn't understand about the current situation. "This is stupid, why would Zuko be this unprepared for this confrontation."

"Katara, you really have no idea…? Didn't you read the document I left at your room containing the rules?" Katara sadly had to move her head in negation, Yue took a deep breath, there had been a lot in Katara's mind lately, Yue should have known Katara wasn't going to read it. "This is an event celebrated once in a year, where every warrior that has arrived to their 15th birthday is asked to participate; here they battle until being immobilized by the opponent, of course we as the judges decide when a warrior has lost a point, for a warrior to win they need two out of three points given to them by the judges."

"I understand that already, but what does that have to do with Zuko being this unprepared?" Yue allowed some air to escape her lungs, Katara still tried to find the meaning of such 'stupid' actions from her personal slave. "No wonder why he still isn't man"

"Zuko is a no level warrior, that means he has lost at every fight he has had the past years, Hann had win two times already, so he now has more benefits, when you have won once, you can wear an armor, when you have won twice, you earn the right to wield a better weapon, if you win for a third time, you become a full warrior and your totemic guardian is given to you in the form of a shield and helmet." Katara nodded as understanding the terms, but that also meant a huge disadvantage for Zuko. "As for Zuko, well, this fight is his choice, every no level warrior can choose who they want to fight… and Zuko always picks Hann."

"Why would he do such a thing?" Yue said nothing, she actually had no idea of why Zuko was doing it, Zuko was the weakest warrior at the tribe, while Hann was known by many as the strongest, such a confrontation wasn't supposed to take place, but Zuko would never have anyone else as an adversary. "That fool… why is he always getting me worried…?" Yue stared at Katara once she said that last; a soft smile appeared on her lips as she noticed Katara was already warming toward her slave. "It's about to begin."

Chief Arnook, the head and leader of the Water Tribe, stood up from his resting place and the whole coliseum went into silence, they all waited for the announcement. "Today we are here to crown the new age of warriors, the youngsters who look for the chance to leave their mark in the story of our tribe, today they will engage in battle, one seeking maturity, the other one seeking his animal spirit, let the spirit look upon these young warriors, and bring victory to the one they bless with their wisdom." Claps filled the coliseum, and so, both Zuko and Hann made a reverence, they were now ready to engage in battle. "Let's have this festival started! Warriors! Fight!"

Cheers filled the coliseum one again as Zuko took his bone lance in hand and took a defensive role, not that he liked it, but he had no choice, after all, he wanted to keep his stamina in order to achieve victory. "This time will be different, it will definitively be different, what are you waiting for, Hann?" The armored warrior fixed his hair but then took his sword in hand, for him, this was no challenge at all. "Curse you! I will end this quickly then!" Zuko ran toward Hann with his bone lance in hand, he tried to land a hit but only found the unsharpened blade of Hann's weapon cutting his bone lance in half.

"Dear spirits, he did it again." Katara stared at Yue, the girl returned the stare. "A basis of a warrior's behavior is to analyze your enemy before attacking, Zuko is always reckless, but it is only because he has no time to waste, his heart is weak, he knows he won't last for long… but that also means there is no place for mistakes." Katara nodded and then placed her attention back to Zuko, the slave was now taking a new weapon from out of his tunic, a bone made hammer of some sort with a crystal looking rock on the top.

"Get ready to lose again, Tsuko, I plan this victory to give me my totemic guardian." Zuko attacked once again, Hann just dodged everything by defending with his sword, Zuko was already sweating hard, and his heart was failing him once again. "Oh, poor Tsuko, you are tired already? Well then, I will take my first point!" Hann kicked Zuko's chest hard, the slave felt the electric shock running through his body until burning his chest, Hann then kicked his face and placed his sword near Zuko's throat.

"Immobilization! Hann wins the first point!" Chief Arnook spoke out, he then stared at Yue who nodded in agreement and took a white flag up, the girl then stared at Katara, the Water Tribe Princess moved her head in negation and stood up. "Point in question! Judge will now speak!" The coliseum went into silence as Katara spoke out.

"Objection! The warrior Hann hit a weak spot of the challenger, considering the challenger's health this point should be annulled!" Zuko bit his lips in annoyance, he then stood up and stared at Katara with rage, the girl ignored the stare and waited for Yue and Arnook, the remaining judges, to discuss the situation. Both placed their flags down in approval.

"You fool! In the battlefield the enemy won't care about your health! Give the point back to Hann!" Katara was furious, she was only trying to help Zuko, but the slave was as usual refusing her aid. "What are you waiting for?" Katara angrily placed her flag up, the other judges followed her. "I can win without your help."

"You should have accepted the princess's aid, Tsuko, after all, there is no other way you can actually beat me, and then I will claim my price." Zuko bit his lips in annoyance but then took a deep breath, calming down and giving his weak heart a moment to rest, he even closed his eyes and allowed his weapon to fall heavily at the cold snow. "Are you giving up now? You are lucky that killing is forbidden at these challenges, because this would be a great and overwhelming victory." Hann ran with his sword in hand, ready to hit Zuko with it, since this was a challenge to earn maturity, the weapons were designed so they wouldn't be able to kill; for example, the silver sword was stripped of all edge and could only cause bone ruptures, but nothing more. "You lose, Zuko!"

"Think again!" Zuko moved fast, hitting one face of the sword with the palm of his hand and forcing Hann's hit to be redirected to pass just a few inches away of Zuko's cheek, Zuko then kicked Hann's legs forcing him to lose balance and fall, with Hann at the freezing floor, Zuko took possession of his sword and pointed it to Hann's chin, earning a point. "When my heart wasn't wounded… it was easy for me to do this… think about it whenever you think of underestimating me…" Zuko then cleaned his sweat away from his face and stared at the judges, Katara lifted her flag without even waiting for Arnook to do the announcement, the chief followed her, and so did Yue. "Get ready Hann, I will definitively, not lose this one."

Hann kicked Zuko away while he was distracted, the pain in his chest just grew bigger. "Fool… no one steals a point from me, this time I will be serious!" Zuko coughed hard, blood even began coming out of his mouth, Katara was freaked out by that last, so was Yue, and chief Arnook asked some healers to go toward Zuko's aid, unfortunately, Hann was no longer ready to wait for the announcement for the fight to start, he took his weapon and attacked. "Never mess with me again!"

Zuko jumped out of the way, but he couldn't help it and kept spiting blood out, Hann furiously turned around and resumed the attack, Zuko just took some snow and threw it toward Hann's face, earning a moment to gain some air and clean his mouth. "That was a low blow… even for you, which is yet another reason to beat you right now… come… I'm waiting for you." Zuko's vision was now blurry, his heart wasn't giving him enough blood, the fight would end at any time soon, but allowing Hann to hit him again would mean two things, losing to him for the third time, or worst, the hit could be strong enough as to force his heart to stop. "Blue Spirit, give me the strength I need, just this once…" Zuko took a boomerang out of his pocket, and although his vision was failing him, he did his best to aim it, he threw it and stripped Hann of his sword, then he ran toward him and tackled him down, turning the warrior's battle into a commoner's fight, but it all ended when Zuko found the boomerang at the snow once again and pointed it's edge toward Hann's throat. "It's over… I win…" And the flags from the judges seconded Zuko's words, Hann, however, wasn't pleased with the news; he kicked Zuko away from him and prepared to beat him, but Katara water bended the snow and buried Hann. Many healers then ran toward Zuko, he was badly wounded, the celebration of his maturity was interrupted, but Zuko was glad, and he fainted with a smile on his face.

* * *

At Air Nomad's territories, a different warrior was getting ready for his new journey ahead, although there was sadness printed on his face, this warrior could barely find any meaning to his life, after all, the revelations that took place during the winter's solstice had wounded him deeply. Sokka had gone through many changes in his life, from being a prince to be degraded to be a slave, from slave he became a peasant, from peasant he became a warrior, and he was close to achieve the goal of becoming a knight. Now he is just a mercenary seeking for a new meaning for his life, a meaning that is unclear, and probably blind. "…I know there is something I'm fighting for… but… am I really okay with this? Do I really want to follow this path?" He of course got no reply, his only companion was Hawky, who could do nothing but rub his feathers against Sokka's cheek trying to light his mood. "Where is my motivation, Hawky? When did I become this weak?"

"Sokka?" The warrior was startled by the voice coming from the other side of the room he was at, the voice belonged to a girl who for many years was his motivation, today, however, he could barely see her as an inspiration. "Sokka, open the door before I kick it open, what's the matter with you? You didn't even come down for breakfast, which worries me a lot."

"Hawky, open the door… will you…?" The red ribbon hawk flew toward the door and pulled the lock open, Sokka's room, as well as the one of the girls, were the only ones having a lock since they were foreigners and didn't follow the culture of 'sharing absolutely everything they had with their equals' the monks always followed. Toph then entered the room; she was dressed to fit the culture of the Air Nomads, wearing the usual purification clothes which consisted in yellow and orange robes tied around her body, this was a natural way of dressing for girls who were seeking for enlightenment, Toph's hair was also released from her usual ponytail. "You look kinda cute." The girl blushed and crossed her arms in annoyance, Sokka just smiled for her once again forgetting the girl was bind.

"It isn't like I like wearing this; these clothes are so slim… I barely feel like I'm wearing anything at all… it is embarrassing…" The girl then sat next to Sokka at the red carpet he used for sleeping, monks weren't luxurious and had little belongings, using a carpet as a resting spot was giving someone a special treatment. "I can feel you staring at me… stop that already… it is… kinda annoying." Sokka clutched at the view, Toph was actually intimidated by Sokka's presence, the girl just punched Sokka's arm since he refused to look away. "Stop that!"

"Ouch! Okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Sokka then noticed the armband he presented to her some years ago; Sokka was also wearing an identical twin, the engagement item between the two. "Umm… Toph… you are looking for enlightenment… monks don't believe in materialism, I don't believe you should be wearing that."

"I'm not taking it off!" Spoke Toph out as in a yell. "They can take whatever they want from me, but they won't take this." Sokka was surprised by the girl's attitude, it was clear that something was bothering her. "It's not like I want to find enlightenment anyway, I'm being forced because of you."

"Yeah, sorry about that… Toph, there is something I need to ask you." The girl flinched and blushed even harder, that only helped Sokka to be more suspicious. "Toph… are you… it is only a feeling but I believe… you have a fever or something?" Toph felt like killing Sokka for that last, he was smart for many things, but for others he was just way too oblivious.

"Of course not! I'm in perfect health you moron! You are just too stupid as to find out the obvious!" Sokka flinched when noticing Toph's annoyance; the girl just hugged her legs close to her chest and buried her face at her knees. "Why do I bother? There is no use into trying to bring some sense into your air brain… just what in the world is wrong with you? I'm worried and you don't even notice it."

"Worried?" Toph bit her lips by the surprise; she spoke that out without even noticing it. "What for? I will be fine." Once again the girl buried her face at her knees in annoyance. "Eh? Something wrong? Are you sure you are not sick?"

"Stupid Sokka." She spoke out gently. "You are leaving to train for Kyoshi Island, who knows how long you will be there, a few weeks… maybe a couple of months… what if you take longer…? What if you find someone out there… I don't know… a girl perhaps… one gentler and older than me…" Sokka blinked twice, he couldn't believe what just happened.

"Uh?" Toph said nothing; she just buried her face at her knees once again. "What are you trying to… tell me…?" She stomped her feet hard at the floor and the whole room felt the impact. "Don't tell me you are… could it be that you are… jealous…?" The girl nodded, but never faced Sokka, not that it would do a difference to her anyway. "You do know we are engaged, do you?"

"Hell, I can't help it, I'm a girl, and you boys don't care about these things at all." Sokka rubbed Toph's head; the girl didn't seem pleased at all by her boyfriend's actions. "You are not helping!" She yelled hard, but once she did she felt her lips being trapped by foreign ones, Sokka had just planted a soft kiss on her lips, that managed to force her to smile and blush deeply. "Idiot!"

"Yeah, I love you too." He began, Toph ignored him. "You have nothing to worry… but thanks anyway." Toph nodded and felt a little more relaxed, but it was more thanks to the new vibrations Sokka was emanating; there was no longer more confusion in them, apparently, whatever was bothering Sokka, was now solved. "I need to go now, but don't worry, I will be back, I promise, you just make sure to be a good monk while I'm out."

"No freaking way! I hate these monks and their peaceful ways of solving conflicts, you just wait, whenever you are back, you will see that these monks will be proud warriors seeking to kick butts and airbend people away from their territories!" Sokka moved his head in negation, Toph just gave him a thumbs up, if it was Toph the one speaking, even if it was only a joke, Sokka was sure there were going to be major changes in the Monks' attitude.

Sokka and Toph then walked around the peaceful temple, many monks were waiting by the Flying-Bison's landing grounds, where Appa and Yún were ready to fly toward the Kyoshi Island. "Hey, Yún, I'm ready for the trip whenever you are." The girl faced Sokka, but said nothing; she just gave him a warm, but at the same time weak smile. "Is something the matter? You don't seem as lively as usual."

"Uh? Oh… I'm sorry… I was, thinking about something else… you were saying?" Sokka scratched the back of his head not really understanding Yún's behavior, but he ignored the situation and tried climbing the hairy fur ball that was the old Flying-Bison, Appa, who licked Sokka when he got too close to him.

"Ah! Appa, no, don't! Bad Appa! I took a shower this morning! I don't need your nasty saliva!" But the Bison growled and pushed Sokka down with one of his huge legs, he then rubbed his face against Sokka's whole body. "Yeah, I like you too, but that doesn't mean I will lick your face each time I see you, let me go already! Yún! Call your bison!" Yún suddenly reacted and then called Appa, the bison obeyed the order and sadly let Sokka go. "…Thanks…" He said while fixing his now combed hair back to the usual wolf's tail and cleaning the saliva away with a towel he knew he would need before leaving. "By the way, where is Ty Lee?"

"Over here!" Yelled the owner of the name while running toward Appa and jumping on top of him before he even got the chance to stick his tongue out to greet the acrobatic girl. The bison then hid his tongue with sadness evident in his face. "Sorry Appa, but I also took a shower this morning. Bye everyone! I will make sure to come back as soon as possible!" Many monks waved their hands to Ty Lee while blushing madly, some of the elder monks were annoyed, after all, there was a reason behind this temple being an all boy's one, and that was in order to prevent this kind of temptations. "I will miss you all too! You guys were so sweet to me, take care! Sokka honey, we can leave now!" The monks lowered their faces with sadness when hearing the way Ty Lee addressed Sokka, and then a tremor was felt all around the temple.

"What the hell do you mean with Sokka honey? Ty Lee, I swear it! I will never forgive you if you do something weird to him!" Ty Lee made various reverences asking for Toph's forgiveness, but they were of no use since Ty Lee was on top of Appa and Toph just couldn't feel her at all.

"I'm sorry, your highness, it was never my intention, I already promised I wouldn't do anything to him! I would never betray your trust!" Toph crossed her arms in disbelief; Ty Lee stared at her with a teary eye. "Your highness, I'm serious, it wounds me badly to see you this upset toward me!" She yelled out, Toph just smiled and giggled. "Your highness?"

"Stop calling me that! I told you it was annoying!" Ty Lee flinched, but Toph once again managed to pull a smile out of nowhere. "Hey, Ty Lee… take care…" Ty Lee blinked with her only useful eye and then smiled harder than ever. "Yeah, whatever, just leave or I won't have the time to miss you."

"Your highness, you are so sweet! That's why I love you so much!" Toph blushed; Ty Lee did know how to embarrass her this much. "I will miss you a lot as well! Good bye!" Toph waved her hand toward the direction she knew the flying bison was, and although she didn't had that good aiming, Sokka and Ty Lee understood the message and waved back to her even after knowing it was of no use.

"Well, we are all ready to go, Appa, yip yip!" The fur ball growled and then jumped a few centimeters before finally flying off, and once Toph was unable to feel the animal's vibrations, she turned around and cleaned the betraying tears, these were surely going to be hard times for her, not having her personal bodyguard and Sokka by her side was something that frightened her, but of course, being the arrogant girl she always is, she pretended everything was going to be fine and ignored the situation after drying her tears away.

"Aw! I already miss her so much! What should I do? Her highness needs many special treatments, who will fix her hair every day or force her to take a shower when she is stinking? Also, if I'm not with her, who will make sure she goes to bed on time? And who will make sure her blankets are comfortable enough to spend the night?" Sokka gave Ty Lee and odd stare, even Yún was amazed with Ty Lee's motherly side.

"Ty Lee, you surely… look forward for Toph's welfare so hard." Ty Lee nodded while playing around with her fingers nervously, Sokka just smiled for her, a smile that won Ty Lee's attention. "Ya know, that's something I like pretty much about you, you are someone that one can place his trust upon!" Yún seconded Sokka's words by nodding in agreement, even Hawky nodded as if understanding what was going on.

"Eh? Do… do you re-really think so…?" Sokka scratched the back of his head after noticing Ty Lee's actions, the girl just moved her head in negation various times while blushing extremely hard. "No, concentrate, don't allow yourself to be fooled by your emotions, her highness is trusting in you, and you made a promise, you mustn't fall for him…" Sokka gave Ty Lee another odd stare; the girl just turned around and buried her face at her hands. "This is going to be harder than what I thought."

"Ah… Ty Lee… there is nothing you have to worry about, even if you flirt me, I won't take it seriously…" Ty Lee then froze and felt her eye watering, and once Sokka heard her sniffing, he flinched as well. "Come on Ty Lee, that wasn't what I was trying to say, actually, I think you are beautiful." Ty Lee's felt a warm feeling upon hearing that last and her whole face won a crimson red color; Sokka slapped his own forehead after noticing that. "I have this bad feeling that something will happen." Ty Lee nodded while once again giving her back to Sokka. "Now I know why Toph was worried.

"…You two are surely weird…" Spoke Yún out once the weirdness was over, she then directed her attention toward the horizon and breathed heavily. "Anyway, we will arrive to Kyoshi Island in a couple of hours, once there you two will be on your own, so try to enjoy the trip." Both nodded and directed their looks toward the horizon, many things awaited for them at the Earth Kingdom, a territory Toph was forbidden to step at until being sixteen, they were both anxious, their training could finally be resumed.

* * *

At the Northern Water Tribe, the citizens were all worried about the fate of the princess's personal slave. Zuko is well loved by the citizens of the North Pole, and little are those who actually saw him as a slave. Despite being Fire Nation, and despite the fact that princess Katara had ordered for her citizens to never treat Zuko as their equal, they can't deny the feeling of Zuko already being a part of their lives. This was something Katara was amazed to find out; she witnessed how many of her citizens would wander around the castle's gates asking the guards about Zuko's welfare, this was something Katara was barely able to believe. "Katara, are you perhaps, jealous?"

"What are you saying, Yue? There is nothing for me to be jealous." Yue smiled for Katara as usual as the young princess stared out of the window of the castle toward the many people outside. "…Zuko is a lot like my brother… everything was always about him… I'm as usual, barely noticed." Yue's smile faded, Katara then faced away of the window and stared at the unconscious body of Zuko laying at her bed, Zuko's chest was completely mended, but Zuko wasn't able to wake up quiet yet, his heart was asking for him to rest even more.

"Katara… I'm curious, if you don't mind I would like you to answer a question for me." Katara glared at Yue with annoyance, the white haired girl wasn't at all affected by that stare. "Do not worry, it isn't something involving Zuko, I'm just curious about what kind of person is my fiancé, I want to know, what kind of man was I promised to"

"Why asking me that so out of a sudden?" Yue remained in silence. "I will tell you, but only if you tell me your reasons after I'm finished." Yue nodded, Katara then sat down at a chair next to Zuko's resting place. "Sokka was always training to become the warrior father and mother always wanted him to be, he was always the center of all attention because of that, always looking for a new opponent, always looking for a way to be recognized by the spirits, he always used to say how he wished he was born a waterbender so he could have followed Avatar Kuruk's steps."

"I remember now that the Southern Water Tribe was always honoring Avatar Kuruk, Katara, you and Sokka are distant descendants from the avatar, right?" The girl nodded. "It should be hard… to have so many responsibilities only because of the fact of sharing the same blood of Avatar Kuruk."

"Sokka and I, we were both always asked to do our best, I was trained to master my element at a young age and became a master at my ninth birthday… but of course my people never cared about my achievement, Sokka had mastered the skills of a warrior since he was seven." Yue was surprised to hear that last, Katara just continued. "He was always training, mastering every weapon he touched, of course he had many teachers, but the truth is he trained himself most of the time… when all the kids in town were playing snowball fights, Sokka was hunting with the men of our tribe, or spending the days of the full moon praying toward the spirits for them to help him become stronger… I rarely saw him at all… but then again, I rarely saw my whole family… I was always left behind to train with Gran Gran."

"That's kind of depressing, your situation I mean, that surely helps me realize many aspects of your person… but why were you always left alone? Weren't you supposed to be the princess? Not to mention you were one of the few Water Benders of your tribe." Katara nodded but then lowered her face; Yue placed a caring hand at her shoulder, trying to encourage Katara into continuing with her tale.

"It was all because of the prophecy." Yue's eyes widened, Katara just continued. "When my mother, Kaya, the queen of our tribe, gave birth to Sokka, she was asked in a dream by the spirits to bring her new born son with her to the altar of Avatar Kuruk… Sokka was chosen by the spirits, mother and father knew it, and so, despite mother's weakness and Sokka being just born, the two of them headed toward the temple, miles away from the tribe… many thought they wouldn't make it back… but somehow they arrived, and there they were greeted by the spirits." Yue was amazed, she never expected to find out this much about Sokka's past, but Katara wasn't done yet. "Mother gave Sokka to the spirits, and they blessed him with their wisdom… or so it is said, the truth is Sokka isn't that bright… but that's not important, the fact is, that it is said that Sokka is always watched by the spirits who are constantly evaluating his actions, some even say that he became the pillar that represents the world of humans for the spirits… they see him as if they were watching the whole humanity."

"If what you said is true, Katara, then it means Sokka was the child chosen by the spirits… but what for? What is what the spirits want from him?" Katara was unable to answer Yue's questions; the white haired girl gave it some thoughts. "I was also, blessed by the spirits upon my birth… I was weak of body, but the spirits gave me their life, now everything makes sense to me… two beings blessed by the spirits… two members of royal blood from different tribes being promised to one another… it is as if it was written since before we were born."

"I told you what you wanted to know, Yue… now it is about time you explain your reasons to me, why do you want to know about Sokka's past so hard? Is there a reason? Or was it just curiosity?" Yue stared out of the window and toward the full moon shining beautifully; she then took one of Katara's hands and rubbed it with care.

"I just wanted to get to know my fiancé; after all, it isn't like I was asked for my opinion before I was promised…" Katara didn't like that reply at all, but was glad to know Yue was this interested in her brother. "Katara, different to me, you can chose who you wish to marry, I wonder, is the person you will marry someone I know, perhaps?" She smiled sweetly; Katara in the other hand just stood up and walked away in annoyance.

"I should have known you were planning something like that, Yue, I don't care who I marry in the future, I just want a man who will be able to help me fulfill my ambitions, I want a man who will help me eradicate the Fire Nation." And with that last said, Katara left the room. Yue breathed heavily once Katara was gone, she then smiled and stared at Zuko, who was now awake and staring back at her.

"Why would you ask Katara such a thing?" Yue remained in silence and kept her sweet smile, Zuko just tried to stand up weekly, and stared back at Yue. "Whatever, that is something I don't care about, more importantly, I learned more about Sokka's past than what I had expected to ever learn… chosen since the day of his birth by the spirits… it is strange… and much of a coincidence… since I also had a similar fate…"

"Really?" Zuko nodded, Yue just stared at him with interest, but the Fire Nation slave rested his weak body at the bed once again and closed his eyes. "I have this feeling that you aren't going to let me know about your experience, why could that be?"

"Because. differently from Sokka, I wasn't loved for being chosen by the spirits… the entire contrary, I was hated…" Zuko gave his back to Yue, the girl faced away with sadness. "It is something I wish I could forget… but now it is different… now I have finally realized what that girl, Yún, was trying to tell me a few years ago." Yue was confused, but wanted to know more about what Zuko was trying to say, the slave continued but kept giving Yue his back. "That girl… she said something odd… he who must bring equilibrium… and you who will bring judgment… that's how she called us… even now I wonder what is what she meant…? But now I know my fortune was always tied to Sokka's one…" Zuko said no more after that last, and Yue was left with many doubts, but she now had to wait to find out the answers to questions she knew not even Zuko knew.

* * *

At the Southern Air Temple, Toph sneezed hard for what seemed to be the eleventh time in just a couple of minutes, this whole enlightenment business was perhaps too much for her to handle, that morning, she was asked to wake up with the first sunrays in order to clean her body at the waterfall at the lowest section of the Patola Mountain range, it was her first task seeking for enlightenment, and also, one that she had to do daily, she was surely not looking forward to it. Now as a second task ahead of her, she was being instructed in the arts of meditation by Monk Pasang and another couple of elders of the Monk's Council, Tashi and Afiko, both disliking the idea of training Toph in the saint arts of purification. "…Training her is useless! She isn't even taking the training seriously! Pasang! Agreeing to this deal with the Prince of the Water Tribe was something that was against our judgment, yet you accepted, why would you do such a thing? What is so special about this girl and the prince that deserves your attention?"

"Monk Tashi, you are being noisy, your time can better be spent in helping this girl to find enlightenment instead of slowing her ascension with your harming words… please brother, assist me in this mission and pray for her success." Tashi, despite being the oldest of monks, and therefore the one with the greatest wisdom, found himself unable to accept what was happening. "I sense disturbance in your judgment, you aren't at all annoyed but you still take a defensive role toward our peaceful civilization… Tashi, if these events are troubling your judgments, then I offer you the chance of leaving the burden of this task to me, I, as the head of the Monk Council, will look for this girl's enlightenment." Tashi made a reverence toward Pasang and then walked away. "Toph, an elder is leaving the room, stand up and show him some respect."

"Are you serious?" Pasang gave Toph a determined look, the girl just nodded, stood up weakly from the awful lotus position she was forced to stay at, and then made a reverence Earth Kingdom style, Pasang cleared his throat, the girl then bit her lips and did a second reverence, this time Air Nomad's style. Once the elder returned the reverence, Toph took the painful lotus position once again. "Ouch! Cramp!"

"Disrespectful child!" Yelled Afiko, the youngest of the monks being part of the Monk's Council. "Such insolence toward our culture, such behavior shouldn't be accepted! Pasang! I demand you allow me to correct this girl's behavior." But Pasang placed his hand in front of Afiko's way, cutting his march and helping him back to his sit.

"Afiko, you are being noisy." The youngest elder was annoyed by Pasang's words, but made a reverence in apologize and then stood up, leaving the room and the annoying girl behind. "Toph, please stop rubbing your feet, your cramp will leave if you allow your body to rest for a while, you can now release yourself from the lotus position." Toph nodded and rested her whole body at the ground; Pasang stood up, walked toward the girl, and mimicked her by taking her same position. "I find this to be quiet comfortable."

"Yeah, way better than the lotus position… aw! Not again! That stupid incense!" Toph covered her nose, but then her eyes watered and she was unable to hold it for much longer; she then sneezed hard and then cleaned her already running nose.

"Be blessed by the spirits." Toph raised an eyebrow at that last. "It is what you are supposed to say whenever someone sneezes; it means good health toward the ears of the one who listens to these words." Toph nodded, Pasang just took the lotus position once again. "Toph, there is a lot you need to learn about our culture, and you must know it is for the greatest good, after all, you are one being watched by the spirits."

"You are pretty kind compared to those other freaks who are always trying to convince you into kicking me out of here." Pasang nodded and then pointed at Toph's leg, the girl felt the vibrations and knew what Pasang was trying to say, she nodded and took the lotus position once again. "This hurts more than it looks like."

"I apologize for the behavior of my brothers, they are worried and only look for the spirits to be at peace, having someone watched by the spirits here is blinding their judgment, they fear for what is to come." Toph wanted to question Pasang about what was he talking about, however, she decided to remain in silence and wait. "We who are closer to the spirits, know much things about their behavior, Toph, it had been written that you and another three will play a major role in the future of humanity, or so it was what Avatar Aang said when he came back from the spiritual world."

"The Avatar? You mean that nice old man who was so kind to me, Sokka and Zuko a few years ago? What does he has to do with me… no wait, I think it is the other way around, what do I have to do with all this?" Pasang used his airbending to push the doors of the room they were at closed, Toph smiled at that last after hearing the bended wind moving the huge stone made doors. "Sweet!"

"What I'm about to tell you, Toph, is something that might frighten you… but it is also something you need to know, and that may probably help you realize how important your enlightenment is… are you ready to listen to this tale?" The girl nodded and gave Pasang her whole attention; she was surprised at how his heart beat changed from being the eternal relaxed heart beat it always was, to be altered and full with fear. "Many years ago, when Avatar Aang travelled to the spirit word after having mastered all the elements, he asked the spirits what was his mission on earth as the avatar… every avatar, upon mastering the four elements, needs to ask this of the spirits, the word the spirits used as reply was, purification."

"Purification? Does that means the avatar needs to convert everyone into monks or something like that? Is that why you need me to be enlightened? To guide my kingdom toward enlightenment as well?" Pasang placed his hand in front of Toph's face; the girl felt the action and remained in silence.

"Purification means many things… back then the avatar didn't know the meaning of those words, but now we all have a clear idea." Somehow Toph didn't like the way that sounded. "About 15 years ago, during the first day of summer, the spirits spoke to Avatar Aang during his dreams and they said… 'The one who will bring judgment was born', it was then when we realized that meant this world would soon be stroke by a great catastrophe, still, there was no way we could know what kind, or who was the one bringing judgment, we only knew he or she was probably Fire Nation because of the date of the birth… a year later, the spirits spoke to Avatar Aang once again, this time they said, 'The one seeking for equilibrium was born', then we knew the new born was probably from the Water Tribe, since he or she was born in winter, we also understood there was going to be conflict between Fire and Water, one that would bring judgment in order to try to find equilibrium."

"That's odd… to where I know, the Fire Nation and the Water Tribe had being immersed in conflict for many years already." Pasang nodded but said no more for a while; Toph then gave it some thoughts "… Monk Gyatso… the day we met he said the spirits who are always watching upon us brought us to his orphanage for a reason… back then I thought it was only because he was a monk, but probably he was speaking about Sokka… he who will seek for equilibrium." Pasang nodded, Toph was surprised.

"When meeting Sokka, I saw the many eyes watching him… I had never seen before an individual who was watched by this many eyes… I knew back then that he should leave, having a person like him here at the temple was dangerous… but then he mentioned how he wished to protect someone, and the words of the spirits won a new meaning to me." Toph was curious, she could barely control her excitement, Pasang noticed and continued. "Two years passed before the next announcement was made, this one during fall, and during the day of the birth of a girl we hold so dear, just after her birth, the spirits spoke to Avatar Aang 'She who will bring hope is now born' we comprehended it immediately, Yún was the one who would bring hope… and finally… a year passed by, and the last announcement was finally made the first day of spring… the spirits said 'She, who we will be looking toward the world through, she whose blind eyes will be our window, she who will reveal the sins of humanity to us, is now born… she who will be the child of destiny."

"Me?" The girl yelled hard, and upon the revelation, Pasang felt a horrible pain at his chest and he fell from the lotus position. "Monk Pasang!" But before she could do a thing, Pasang recovered and returned to the lotus position. "What just happened?"

"It is nothing that deserves your concern… my mind and body are at eternal peace… even if the spirits try to silence me, they know this is the first time I defy their authority, and they will forgive me… that's the only reason I'm alive just now." Toph was frightened, Pasang just smiled for the girl, delivering peaceful vibrations to her. "Judgment, Equilibrium, Hope, and Destiny, the spirits are endlessly looking at your actions, what will happen to this world is something we do not know, but staying arm crossed we most, the will of the spirits is sacred, and we aren't allowed to interfere, all we can do is try to guide you all toward the path we believe correct, and pray for the spirits not to be angered by our actions, Toph, these were all words from Yún, who was not long ago punished by her sins toward the spirits… she as well as you, Sokka, and the one who will bring judgment, all have different missions, but are unwillingly pointing toward a same goal, redemption… keep this in mind and try your best to seek for enlightenment." Toph nodded, she was still worried about such revelation, but now knew the enlightenment was needed, only then she could find the peace to think about her every action properly. "Right now we had an impressive start, since my talk to you managed to keep you in lotus position."

Toph then noticed the stance she had; her legs were linked by her feet hitting each other's soles, and her hands were together as well hitting each other's palms, this was the lotus position she had tried to master with a lot of effort, and she unwillingly did it. "It isn't that painful once you get used… but Monk Pasang… I'm not sure I'm capable enough to live with this kind of responsibility… I don't even know what I need to do… what if I make a mistake… what if the path I'm following is the wrong one?"

"There is no way we can know for certain, but there is something you can think about whenever you feel the tension of your heavy responsibility, and that is that worrying about something that hasn't happened yet, is a waste of the life that was given to you." Toph was unable to understand Pasang's complicated words; the monk noticed and placed a caring hand at Toph's head, which was something that reminded her lot about Master Yu. "Worry only when it is needed, not before, not after, do you understand?"

"I think so… say… Monk Pasang… can I call you Master Pasang from now and on…?" Pasang gave Toph a warm smile; the girl felt the vibrations and smiled back. "Master Pasang reminds me a lot about a person I loved as if he was my father… right now I wish I could leave for the Fire Nation and help him, but I can't… I need to be safe… so I can save my Kingdom in the future… I can't even go look for my ill father… it worries me a lot."

"He who taught you to be strong did a great job in raising you… an earthbender needs to be strong… but a girl sometimes needs to cry in order to ease her pain, Toph, don't be afraid to cry when you need it." Toph nodded, and she could no longer contain the tears, she cried hard, releasing all the pain that always stroke her young heart, Pasang placed a caring hand at her shoulder, and the girl quickly pulled him into a hug he never expected, but welcomed warmly. "I will help you in all I can… but the path ahead of you, is one you must walk besides the ones watched by the spirits." Toph nodded, but didn't seem to be close to stopping her crying.

* * *

"Here we are, Kyoshi Island, from here and on I won't be able to help you… all I can give you both as an advice is to never swim at these waters, since demonical creatures lurk in their depths." Sokka and Ty Lee both nodded, Yún then climbed Appa once again and left. "Good luck! Send Hawky to me whenever you need a ride!"

"We will, and thank you, Yún, take good care of her highness! And please tell her I miss her so much!" Yún giggled at Ty Lee's words, the one eyed girl giggled back. "Now then, shall we leave to find Kyoshi Town already? Or would it be best to camp for tonight?" Sokka said nothing, he just kept looking all around the place, there was little light due to the sun already hiding, and the place they were now at was in silence, but this silence, was one Sokka disliked, Hawky was also nervous and staring at many directions from time to time. "It seems like we aren't welcomed… good job finding it out, Hawky…"

"We must be careful, whoever they are they are good at what they do, I have no idea of where they are." Said Sokka in a low tone of voice and while placing his hand near to his sword. "Hawky, can you see them?" The hawk's golden eyes sparkled, but he made no sound at all. "This is bad; they are good enough to fool an animal's instinct." Hawky suddenly let out a cry; Sokka turned around fast and placed his sword in the way of an odd weapon. "A fan?" The hawk attacked the figure and forced her to back off; Sokka then unarmed her with his sword. "Who are you?" The figure moved fast and jumped up toward the trees, many figures then came out of the bushes and attacked them. "Ty Lee!"

"I'm on it! But there is so little light! I can't aim properly!" But despite her words, Ty Lee's arrows were thrown with incredible aiming, the warriors attacking them however, were too fast for her. "I hate it when they evade my arrows! Fine then, you asked for it, come and get me!" Ty Lee hid her arrow and bow and took Chi Blocking stance, Sokka did the same once noticing the only weapon his enemies were wielding were golden colored fans. "There are too many of them!" Yelled Ty Lee after paralyzing a couple of warriors, Sokka was also defending well but was having a hard time. "This is bad, the sun already hid, which means I can't read their movements that well."

"I refuse to be defeated by a bunch of girls!" The fight stopped, all the figures were directing their stares at Sokka, Ty Lee was also annoyed by Sokka's comment but instead of directing her eye toward Sokka she was doing her best to count the many enemies around them that seemed to be no more than six. "This is odd, I thought they were more."

"That's usually what men say upon being defeated." One of the figures spoke out, the one that had climbed the tree once the battle began. "You men think you are superior, but I disagree with that idea, before capturing you and tying you as the pig you are, I will challenge you into battle!" the figure yelled hard and attacked Sokka, the warrior dodged and tried to hit her with his Chi Blocking, but she dodged him with her fan and continued battling, Ty Lee made a move, but then the remaining warriors all pointed their fans at her, Hawky also tried to move and the same happened to him. "This battle is between the pig and me! Get involved and you risk your health!"

"How rude!" And Ty Lee stuck her tongue out for the figure who ignored her and continued fighting. It was an even match, with both Sokka and the figure of painted face dodging at every second, but Sokka was getting tired, while the figure was as good as new. "Don't give up Sokka! Teach her who the man is!" The remaining figures were annoyed and prepared to attack Ty Lee, but that only placed Hawky and her into defensive roles. "Wanna try your luck? We are tougher than we look."

"You fight well for being a girl! But I won't be defeated by you." The warrior bit her painted lips in annoyance and continued fighting, Sokka moved fast and stroke her leg, the first hit since the battle began, that forced the Kyoshi Warrior to fall to the ground and complain because of the pain. "I win!" But then Sokka felt many fans surrounding his neck. "Fine, I give up." Ty Lee was also defeated, once the sun hid entirely she was unable to see properly and couldn't defend at all.

"So unfair! I am awfully handicapped!" Yelled Ty Lee in annoyance, but was soon silenced by a bag placed at her head, the warriors also placed Hawky inside of a bag despite the hawk's insistence. Sokka cursed the warriors in silence and waited for the girls to place a bag at his head as well, however, he was knocked unconscious instead by a powerful hit with the golden colored fan; this was the beginning of a new trip, one that didn't seem to be as easy as Sokka first thought.


	14. Warriors From Legend

**Slavery Mark: Book Two – Air.**

**Chapter Four: Warriors From Legend.**

* * *

The first sunrays reveal the consequences of yet another day of intense war at the Fire Nation, many soldiers from the once powerful nation lay at the floor, both, unconscious or in the worst of cases, with no life pending inside of their weak bodies. Many years of war, and yet there is no signal of it coming to an end, neither is there a way to know which side is winning the internal conflict, all that is known is that the capital of the Fire Nation is already sealed away from the rest of the nation.

This civil conflict that apparently has no end, always greets the morning with silence, this silence however, only lasts until the first rebellion leaders start their moves. "Sneers, can you see anything?" Smellerbee, one of the many leaders of the rebellion, specially of her own militia strike force, the Freedom Fighters, spoke out to one of her companions who moved his head in negation, she then stared at the distance, toward another companion, one holding a bow endlessly as if about to feather someone down. "Longshot saw something."

The boy holding the bow kept aiming, he then was about to fire when he noticed the person in front of them wasn't an enemy, all the contrary, he was an ally, and one of the leaders of the rebellion. He placed his bow down and let out a deep breathe, all the members of the Freedom Fighters were relieved. But then the figure pointed at the sky, and the boy quickly turned his attention toward an object flying toward them. "Dragon!" he yelled, for everyone it was a surprise since the one they called Longshot rarely spoke a word, weirder enough was for him to yell it out.

"Everyone run toward the headquarters! This information must reach the ears of our leader!" Smellerbee ordered out, and everyone else followed her orders, everyone but Longshot, who fired various arrows toward the flying hybrid creature. "Longshot! Just forget it! No one has ever defeated a dragon before! Let's run while we can!" But it was already too late, the dragon arrived and was now about to fire his infernal breathe against the couple, and it would have ended their existences if it wasn't because of a huge boulder slamming the dragon's face. "Master Yu!"

"As always it is a pleasure to save your young life, Smellerbee, but next time when I point toward an object in the sky, just run." The girl nodded with teary eyes as the now old master took a bending position. "Take everyone toward safety! This man is one that you can't handle; I will take care of everything here!" Smellerbee nodded and pulled Longshot away from the place that would soon become a battlefield. Once everyone was safe, Master Yu faced the rider of the feral beast as he climbed it down. "I can see that your bones had finally healed. But, is it safe for you to be riding alone when you had just recovered? After all, you took almost a whole year for rehabilitation, Zhao."

The warrior then took his helmet off and stared at Master Yu with an evil grin on his face. "I like hunting alone, but thanks for worrying about my health." The Fire Nation general then wasted no time and attacked Yu, the earthbending master of course defended himself by bending a wall of mud around his body, then forcing it to endure and threw it toward Zhao in the form of a boulder, the Fire Nation general kicked the boulder with his just healed leg and broke it in half. "As you mentioned earlier, my old friend, my extremities are fully healed."

"Yes, it looks like, but a broken bone can never heal entirely, Zhao, the boy who died trying to kill you left his mark behind at your body, your weak bones will crumble, just as the highest mountain does when stroked by time." Yu launched another bending attack, Zhao dodged and threw a full flame throwing power toward the old master, who buried himself deep inside of the floor just to come out a few seconds later at Zhao's back and slamming his fist at the Fire Nation general's face. "You see? You are slow, a couple of years ago you would have avoided that hit."

"A couple of years ago I wouldn't be enjoying this so much." Yu jumped back and took a fighting stance, Zhao spited out some blood and also took a bending position while walking in circles just like Yu was doing, both were analyzing each other's. "I heard from one of the rebels I tortured not long ago, that your numbers have increased." Yu nodded but never lost concentration, same with Zhao. "Stupid rebels, you kill one and two more join your lines, it surprises me how you have manage to keep your base hidden from us, what is your secret, Yu? How can you keep so many slaves alive and hidden from our eyes?"

"It's pretty simple actually, only a few members of the rebellion know the real whereabouts of the hideout, these members are always leading major groups toward the hideout by blinding their eyes, and since ours is a secret city, no one actually complains." Zhao disliked Yu's arrogance; the old earthbending master was so sure that the base was never going to be found that he was actually revealing their action plan out loud. "I must tell you that even if you capture one of them, they will never reveal the location to you, since only those who we trust the most know it."

"Everyone has a breaking point, Yu, and I will definitively find yours… for example, I heard you are no longer the leader of the rebellion." Yu's eyes widened, Zhao had hit the spot. "Oh yeah, you gave the leadership to that girl… Ming, wasn't she? A traitor to her nation, how disgusting… I heard she was… you know… pregnant." Zhao smiled, Yu attacked the Fire Nation general, who avoided the impact and launched an attack toward Yu, who backed off but couldn't help but feel his face burning because of the heat. "So, you will soon be a father? Yu, you old freak, to believe you actually found love in the middle of a war."

"Yeah, it may be something you will never understand because you are ugly." Zhao bit his lips in annoyance, Yu just kept taunting him. "Now that I think about it, could it be that I'm lucky to have found someone like her? You really wouldn't be able to understand, how it is like to feel your heart beating with happiness, no Zhao, that's something you will never know, your heart only has place for greed and hatred, I pity you."

"Shut up!" Zhao furiously attacked Yu with all the power of his firebending, the old master just began a tremor all around the place once avoiding the massive attack from Zhao, and forced two buildings to fall apart, burying Zhao between them and then disappearing with the members of the freedom fighters. "Yu!" Zhao burned the building to ashes with his power, but Yu managed to do as he wanted, fighting was never his intention, he just wanted to run away. "I will kill you, you hear me! One day I will kill you! But I promise I will kill your wife first! And I will enjoy every damn second of feeling my power consuming her!" And upon saying that last, Zhao climbed his dragon and flew away.

"Is he gone?" The voice of the only female member of the Freedom Fighters questioned. She got no reply but soon saw how Master Yu bended the remaining of the buildings he tore down away and revealed the Freedom Fighters. "Nice way of using your earthbending to help us hide below the ruins, it was something clever." Yu smiled while cleaning the dirt away from his clothes, the Freedom Fighters then made a reverence toward him. "Master, if it weren't because of you, our mission would have ended in failure, you have our eternal gratitude." The girl delivered some documents to Yu, the old master smiled, took them on his hands, and messed the girl's dirty hair.

"Smellerbee, you never cease to surprise me either, every day you get involved in an even bigger problem, Jet would have been proud of you." The girl blushed madly and nodded in agreement, Master Yu shared the knowledge of every Blue Spirit, even if there was a new one after him, he knew everything about Jet since he met him many times during dreams, Yu even had knowledge about Zuko's whereabouts, but fighting a war here was something that couldn't allow him to search for the prince he was fighting for. "Well, let's go already; it is a long way until reaching the hideout."

"Master Yu, do you think it to be wise the fact of telling General Zhao about the leader's knowledge?" Yu raised an eyebrow at Smellerbee, the girl faced away not feeling strong enough as to see the old Master straight to the eyes. "I mean, what if Zhao captures one of the leaders, if they torture them, they will know the secret."

"Only ten persons know the secret, and three of them are away at Air Nomad's territories, Ming would never speak, neither would I, and the other five are strong ones who would never speak." Smellerbee nodded, Yu then took some rags from out of his pocket. "Now, Smeller Bee… would you mind helping me tie these around the eyes of those who call you leader?" The girl nodded and helped Yu with what she was asked for, all those with the eyes tied then took each other's hands and allowed Smellerbee to guide them.

"Master Yu, I'm not so sure, I know the two benders would never talk, the two generals have proved their loyalty already as well… but why me? I'm just a child whose hands still shake when giving out orders? If captured… I don't think I could endure it… I'm not even supposed to be the leader; I only took the place after Jet passed away…" Yu just smiled for the girl, giving her hope. "How can someone like you keep fighting like this… could it be that nothing can break you?"

"Oh, there are many things that can break me… my wife… my princess… that long lost prince, or perhaps even prince Zuko, it would wound me to see any of them in danger… but that's also the reason of why I fight so hard… in order to protect those I care for… I don't risk my life everyday trying to save you just because I find it to be an enjoyable experience you know?" The girl nodded, she then saw how Master Yu bended away a boulder in the middle of an in ruins library. "The Blue Spirit still lives." He spoke toward the floor, after a few seconds, the floor was bended open from the other side.

"And we are here to keep alive his legend." A young man with long brown hair and wearing an Earth Kingdom military uniform spoke out. "Master, we have waited for your safe return, and young Freedom Fighters, I can see that you were victorious in your mission, please, come with me." The group entered the hole at the library, and the young earthbender looked all around the place making sure no one had seen them and then went inside.

"Umm… this place is looking pretty good, you and your father have done an excellent work creating these tunnels, Haru." The youngster made a reverence, and once everyone was inside, he bended the entrance closed, once that was done, the place was illuminated by many beautiful crystals on top of their heads, illuminating the underground tunnels and revealing the chains of tunnels that were part of the resistance's hideout. "I will forever thank the spirits for the day you and your father arrived to the Fire Nation, who would have guessed you two would be smart enough as fake being no benders and allowed yourselves to be captured so you could fight against slavery here."

"Master, we don't deserve your praising, staying here was never part of the plan, we only came to free our comrades, imagine our surprise when a rebellion exploded the day we arrived." Haru leaded the way around the tunnels, despite being ten the ones knowing their way around the tunnels, in reality, only Haru and his father knew the whole tunnel system perfectly.

"Still, Haru, the rebellion will always be in your debt, if you hadn't arrived, all the slaves would have no place to live at, you and your father did wonders in the construction of this underground chains of tunnels, and I must say, the crystals that illuminate our way are a nice touch, they only light the way when in deep darkness." The chains of tunnels were perfectly constructed and were always growing bigger, since there was little oxygen, no torches could remain lightened for long, so Haru and his father filled the caves with illumination crystals.

"We got the idea from one of the legends of our people back at the Earth Kingdom, the cave of two lovers, their cities were separated by a mountain range, and their families wouldn't accept their romance, so they met in secret inside of a chain of tunnels that separated their towns, and in order to find their way, they planted light crystals at the walls, leading their way around the tunnels, anyone else entering the tunnel with a torch or any source of light would never find the way." But of course the crystals weren't enough to guide them all to the secret city various feet underground, Haru, Smellerbee and Yu had to detect many carvings at the walls to know where to go next. "Here we are, cave sweet cave." Joked Haru when standing in front of a dead end with only the carving of a white lotus adorning it.

"The White Lotus, I assume this was the general's doing, I am curious about the meaning of such a symbol protecting the entrance to our city." Yu approached to it and spoke out to the wall. "City of light, reveal your entrance to me, a servant of the White Lotus." Not long after those words were said, the metal made doors were opened, and a huge underground city was revealed, it was a jewel of architecture, and it looked just like an Earth Kingdom city, very similar to an underground Ba Sing Se. "Tyro you old man, your knowledge of architecture never ends to amaze me, this place is like being back to the Earth Kingdom." Tyro, Haru's father, made a reverence toward the old Master Yu and allowed everyone inside.

"Thank you Master Yu, I got a message from your wife by the way, she awaits your safe return, you have been away from the underground city for 3 weeks, she was awfully worried." Yu nodded and then walked around the underground city in silence, allowing Smellerbee to untie everyone on her own.

The whole city was a living wonder, it was built in the middle of the chain of tunnels, which provided the city with enough air for everyone to breathe freely despite living various meters underground, water wasn't a problem, the underground rivers and lakes were full with precious water, the cleanest in all the world, as for light, it was a disappointment to live in an eternal darkness only illuminated by the many crystals around the city, but it was better than living with fear and running away from the Fire Nation, the place was mostly a good place to live at, although there were many problems involving the need of food, citizens of the underground city began building underground farms, but them alone weren't enough to feed the whole town, many trips toward the outside world were needed in order to find food supplies.

Yu continued walking around the streets of this underground city, many citizens smiled at him as he passed by and waved their hands to him, he waved back while searching for his stone-made underground house. "It is nice to be home, I'm too old for this kind of adventures, fighting dragons isn't my style." Yu entered his home, and inside, sleeping peacefully on top of a pillow made bed, was Ming, now Yu's pregnant wife, she was sleeping peacefully, but Yu couldn't help his anxiety and woke her up gently. "Ming, you lazy beauty, won't you say hi to your husband?"

The woman curled at her bed, but after a while she finally woke up and dizzily tried take a sitting position, Yu smiled at her, the woman was a mess, ever since her third month of pregnancy began she was forced to leave the battlefield and was left to stay at home and do the planning for the rebellion. "Welcome back." She added dizzily but with a smile on her face. "How is the outside world? Are things any better already?" Yu moved his head in negation, he then sat down next to her and used his bending powers to pull a stone made table toward them, once that was done, he placed the documents Smellerbee gave to him at it. "Reading after waking up is hard… what is all this all about…?"

"I'm not sure… Smellerbee said it is something important, it looks like a page from a diary… the writing style is old, perhaps about 70 years old… maybe more… it speaks about an obscure day of the Fire Nation… rings a bell?" Ming moved her head in negation, Yu continued reading. "I don't understand most of the document since it is all burned in many sections, but apparently there is a date here… and then it says 'the sky went dark and the sun was gone, we feared our defeat as our swore enemies drowned or city with their bending powers, the city was left in ruins, and during the time the sun finally came back, it was too late to save our beloved capital' Apparently your nation was conquered by the Water Tribe some decades ago."

"There was nothing like that on our history books." Yu nodded with interest, now he understood the reason behind the document being all burned, someone had tried to hide this from the world. "The history books say something about an invasion toward the Fire Nation capital, and about how Sozin, our ruler around those days, used the power of a comet about more than 80 years ago, to eradicate the invasion of the Water Tribe and freed the remaining conquered cities of our nation… in a few months, the celebration of the 88 anniversary of the comet's arrival is supposed to take place."

"Umm… this document if more than 80 years old… and the comet you mention… it happened about 88 years ago… I wonder if this burned document speaks about a date lost in history, a date in which the Fire Nation fell, a date someone wanted to hide from history." Ming was confused, Yu continued. "We must allow this document to arrive at Sokka's hands, there is no use we can give to this knowledge, but the lost Prince of the Water Tribe is smart, he will find the answers of this mystery."

"But Yu, no one has heard of Sokka and the others for a long time, we don't know where they are, we don't even know if they are still alive." Yu nodded, he then took a Pai Sho piece from out of his pocket, one adorned with the White Lotus. "I always wondered why general Iroh gave that thing to you when he joined our rebellion."

"When I meet the 3 generals they were my enemies, but were kind ones, I remember old general Iroh telling me once he would rather solve our conflicts in Pai Sho than battling; imagine his surprise when I accepted the challenge." Ming smiled, this war made wonders for Yu, she remembered how Yu was always fighting against the 3 generals, those were epic battles that almost all the time ended in a tie, but the last battle they had was in Pai Sho. "Enemies or not, there was a trusting aura on them, so I never thought about it twice when they asked me to join the rebellion, but only 2 did, Iroh said he was needed elsewhere and gave this to me, he said I should use it only when I really needed something, so I'm asking Piandao and Jeong Jeong to do me a favor this once, we need to find Sokka and give this to him." Ming nodded, Yu just walked out of his house in search of the old masters.

* * *

Back at Air Nomad's territories, Toph was forced to join the many monks around the Southern Air Temple in the arts of purification, she was awfully tired, she wasn't at all used to waking up so early in the morning, she wasn't used either to spending the first 3 hours of the day sitting in the middle of the temple surrounded by many other monks, all of them in the lotus position and praying to the spirits. "Tell me again why do I have to do this? I don't even believe in the same spirits you believe." Toph said in a whisper, Yún, who was by her side, opened one of her eyes to stare at Toph. "Spirit of the Air, Spirit of the Enlighten, Spirit of Peace and Love, why not praying to real spirits as the Spirit of Earth, the Goodness of Harvest and the Spirit of Spring?"

"Toph, we discussed this already, each culture pray for their own spirits, but all spirits are part of the same sacred entity who created it all, praying for my spirits is much the same as praying for yours, and be careful with what you say about the spirits, remember you are one of the few that are endlessly being watched by them." Yún then closed her eye and continued praying, Toph breathed out in defeat and began praying as well, although she did it lazily since she rarely spoke to them. "Remember Pasang placed his trust on you, don't disappoint him." Toph nodded, but suddenly the blind girl felt something and abandoned the lotus position in order to place both feet at the floor. "Toph, you left the lotus position, you can't pray to the spirits that way, it's disrespectful."

"I know, I know, I'm following the rules! Give me a break, I hate following the rules." Yún opened both eyes and stared at Toph, the girl just continued without even facing her. "I feel something coming our way… it's small and light… an animal perhaps… it's not dangerous though, he is just in a hurry I guess." Yún then felt something jumping to her head; it was a white lemur with bat like wings connected to his arms. "What is that thing?" Toph pointed with perfect aim without even directing her face toward the animal.

"Momo! This is not the time to play! I'm praying here!" She yelled all that in a whisper, but the white lemur by the name of Momo just kept pulling Yún's hair none stopping and making weird sounds. "This will sound odd but Momo is my guardian spirit." Spoke Yún out while trying to pull the lemur away from her hair. "Nomad boys have Sky Bison as their guardian spirits, Nomadic girls have Giant-Snowbirds, I sadly wasn't presented with my own guardian Giant-Snowbird, and instead, grandpa gave Momo to me, cut it out Momo! I'm trying to speak to the spirits here!" Toph blinked twice, not that it did any difference, Yún was finally able to pull Momo off of her hair, but she swallowed a yell of pain since Momo managed to steal some bangs of hair as he was pulled off, the lemur then made many sounds, Yún's eyes widened. "What do you mean it's a message from the White Lotus? Why didn't you say so earlier?" She yelled once again in a whisper.

"Wait? You can understand that furry creature?" Yún said nothing, she pulled Momo by the tail and with her other free hand she pulled Toph away from the temple. "I thought the spirit talking time shouldn't be interrupted; remember I'm being watched by the spirits all the time." Toph smirked; Yún ignored her and stopped her march once arriving to the Avatar Temple, where she rudely threw Momo toward a pile of snow, despite the winter season being officially over, there was still snow at the temples because of its proximity to the southern pole.

"Answering your question, yes, I can understand what Momo says, although sometimes I wish I couldn't, we are connected by our spirits, now, speak you fur ball, what were you saying about the White Lotus?" Momo gave a Pai Sho piece to Yún, and then pointed at some documents tied at his tail. "Burned documents? An important date? Yeah, sure, sure, but who send these things to me?" Momo kept trying to explain it all to Yún. "Master Yu?"

"What?" Toph rudely pushed Yún aside and sat in front of Momo, who backed off in fear. "My master? Where is him? Is he safe? Is he still kicking butts at the Fire Nation? Is he in good health? How did he know I was here?" Momo ran away. "Hey! Wait! Stupid fur ball!"

"Don't mind him Toph, I know what I need to know… this message isn't for me, the White Lotus just wants me to redirect it toward the final destination." Toph said nothing. "The White Lotus is a society my grandfather is part off, Master Yu send the message, a Fire Nation member must have send it out of the Fire Nation, it went through many hands until arriving to my grandfather, who send it to me so I can give this to Sokka."

"I know little about printed documents since I can't read at all, but I do know something like that should be more, confidential-like, if what you are saying is accurate, then many may know about this information." Yún moved her head in negation.

"No, only I and Master Yu know, the document was sealed, but someone went ahead and opened it." Yún stared at Momo, the lemur just climbed a tree and hid there. "Momo! You shouldn't read confidential documents! Jezz, sharing our spiritual energies allows Momo to be smarter than any animal, smart enough to know how to read, but this little freak does nothing but cause trouble, Momo come down here!" The lemur moved its head in negation; Yún used her airbending to knock him out of the tree. "Stupid animal!"

"I wouldn't call him stupid; I know a few animals that are way smarter than they should, Appa, Eelen, Hawky, those Badgermoles who taught me earthbending." Yún nodded as she found Momo and while trying to tie the documents back to his tail.

"Yeah, but none of them actually knew how to read! Stay quiet Momo! You will break the documents!" But Momo ran away from Yún, not allowing those things to be tied to him once again. "Fine! I don't trust you anyway! I will deliver them myself! Stupid Momo." Yún then hid the documents inside of her tunic and faced Toph. "Since Momo is not cooperative enough, I will have to deliver the message personally, Toph, go back to Monk Pasang while I'm out, I will not take long, this document must arrive to Sokka's hands."

"Not fair! Everyone goes and comes and I'm forced to stay here learning how to be an annoying and boring Monk, I hate my life so much! I should be kicking butts somewhere else! Curse the Air Nomad's and their pacifist ways of life!" She yelled out in annoyance and walked away; Yún rolled her eyes and went in search of Appa, followed by Momo all the way.

"Don't you have anything better to do, Momo?" The lemur moved his head in negation, Yún rolled her eyes. "Why can't you be more cooperative like Appa…? Although it is scary how your behavior is awfully similar to mine…" The girl climbed the giant and old fur ball, and so her trip toward the Earth Kingdom began.

* * *

Back at the Earth Kingdom, more specific at Kyoshi Island, both Ty Lee and Sokka were tied from hand and feet against a long log, Hawky was trapped inside of a steel made cage far away from the pair, but was doing his best to set himself free. "It's funny how my life seems to change so radically, first I'm a warrior, then a prisoner tied to a log at the Fire Nation and being sold as a slave, then I become a commoner, then a bodyguard of the Royal family, and then I go back to be a prisoner, then I become a rebel, then a mercenary, and guess what, I once again end as a prisoner, I seriously need to find a new hobby."

"Well, this is my first time as a prisoner, and so far its being an interesting experience." Ty Lee smiled for Sokka, although the former Water Tribe Prince couldn't see it since he was tied at the other side of the log, many citizens from the Earth Kingdom were arguing about what to do with the prisoners, mostly because of the Air Nomads that lived there at the Earth Kingdom disliking the idea of burning the invaders. "Shouldn't we… you know… escape already? I released my feet about an hour ago, how about you?"

"Did you really think these ropes would stop me? I'm a step ahead of you, both hands and feet are free of their knots, but I still can't find my belongings, we can't fight against these girls with only Chi Blocking, we need my sword and your arrows." Ty Lee nodded while moving her foot toward her head and scratching it fast before the Kyoshi could notice. "Stop doing that, circus girl, you will place us in an uncomfortable situation."

"I find the circus girl thingy to be a compliment, and I can't help it, my hands are still tied and I want to scratch my nose." Sokka rolled his eyes and was about to speak out when the leader of the Kyoshi warriors arrived. "Hey, that make up looks so beautiful on you, mind sharing your secret?"

"Silence!" Yelled the proud Kyoshi warrior, she then stared at both travelers. "Let's see what we have here." The girl then pulled Ty Lee by the ponytail; the acrobat girl complained and felt her eye filling itself with tears due to the pain. "A grey eye? You are a no bender, but much likely from the Fire Nation? You must be one of those Slave Recruiting parties who constantly invade our lands and slave our people!"

"Can you please let go of my ponytail? It does hurt a lot you know, ouch, ouch, ouch!" The warrior released her, and Ty Lee had to fight the urge of rubbing her head with her feet in order not to be discovered. "Awah! It hurts! Was that really necessary? And yes, I'm from the Fire Nation, but I'm not a slave hunter! Do I look like a mercenary to you?" Sokka lowered his face in annoyance. "Oh… right… I'm a mercenary…"

"Ty Lee, I suggest you remain in silence, you are making us look like a couple of troublemakers." Now it was Sokka's turn to have his wolf-tail pulled, the leader of the Kyoshi pulled it harder than she pulled Ty Lee's one since she obviously felt hatred toward men. "Lady, I swear you are making all this too hard to tolerate!"

"A water tribe savage?" Sokka bit his lips in annoyance, everyone at the town gasped. "No one has seen a Water Tribe savage since the days of the great war around 7 years ago, speak you savage, tell me how you managed to cross the ocean toward our Kingdom without angering the Unagi, and why are you and a Fire Nation girl here at the Earth Kingdom."

"Well, you must admit that all this is quiet suspicious, I doesn't surprise me we were captured." Sokka kicked the log; Ty Lee felt the hit and her whole body began shaking with the impact. "Fine, fine, I will shut up, jezz, I'm just trying to do some friendly conversation, why does it always has to be fighting and arguing and acting all kickass like?"

"Ty Lee, you are not helping." The one eyed girl blew the bangs of hair away from her face in annoyance, Sokka continued. "We are travelers in search of knowledge, my name is Sokka, leader of a small mercenary group at the Patola Mountain range at Air Nomad's territories, we came here seeking for an Aikido Master to teach us."

"You mean you need an Aikido Master, don't get me involved in this, I'm just here to improve my archery skills against Earth Kingdom Fauna." Sokka slammed his foot against the log again, hitting Ty Lee's head against the wood. "Ok, that one really hurt! Stop that!" This time Ty Lee forgot she was supposed to be tied and began rubbing her head with her feet, winning everyone's attention in the progress. "Umm… oops…"

"They set themselves free!" Yelled the leader of the Kyoshi who tried to attack Ty Lee with her fan, fortunately the girl used her acrobatic skills to evade the fan that was now buried several inches inside of the wood. "Get them!" Sokka released himself as well and kicked the leader of the Kyoshi away; he then went to help Ty Lee out of the ropes tying her hands.

"Seriously Ty Lee! Couldn't you remain in silence?" While Sokka untied her, Ty Lee fought anyone approaching with her feet, when she was younger, she joined a circus and learned a variety of movements that made her awfully flexible, which was the reason behind her skills.

"Well I'm Sorry! But it is also your fault for kicking the log all the time! And watch the tone of your voice when speaking to your sifu like that!" Once Ty Lee was released, both battled the Kyoshi warriors using their Chi Blocking, since it was now day time, Ty Lee could see the movements of her opponents perfectly, she was no longer handicapped, and so, the battle was now even. "I seriously need to find a way to fight when it is dark; this is much easier than last night."

"Yeah, but it shouldn't have ended like this! We were supposed to find an Aikido Master, not fight them all!" The battle continued, and soon all the Kyoshi warriors but their leader were defeated. "Will you listen to our story now?" The girl took her fan out. "Guess not."

"She is mine! She owes me a dance after pulling my hair as she did." Ty Lee jumped toward the green dressed warrior, but the girl evaded all her attacks without sweating a drop, Ty Lee's smile faded, despite having only an useful eye, the truth was she was more skilled as a fighter than what she was when she had both her eyes working perfectly, with her knowledge of reading movements, beating her opponents was never a hard task, so far only Sokka was the one able to match her movements since, just as her, Sokka learned how to read movements and their fights always ended in a tie, she never expected to find someone far better than Sokka and her outmatching them both. "How can she be this fast?" The warrior then kicked Ty Lee away.

"She defeated you?" Ty Lee bit her lips in annoyance but nodded in agreement, Sokka stared at the warrior who placed herself in her battle posture while moving her fans with grace, Sokka watched carefully, reading her moves, they were almost perfect and used the speed of the wind to become faster. "…I see… so I can beat an Airbender, I need to learn Aikido, since Aikido uses the wind to speed their moves, and uses the power of their opponents against themselves." The warrior smiled, Sokka kneeled. "Please, be my sifu." The warrior's eyes widened, Ty Lee's jaw dropped. "Whit my current skills I won't be able to defeat you, not without my sword, someone who can defeat me in hand to hand combat deserves my respect."

"…You two… you wish no harm to our village… I want to hear your story… I, Suki, leader of the Kyoshi warriors, invite you both to stay here and share your tale… be welcomed to our village." Sokka and Ty Lee exchanged looks; they then stood up and followed Suki toward the mayor's home. For a long while, Ty Lee and Sokka spoke to Suki and the mayor about their situation, they mentioned nothing about Sokka being a long lost prince or a slave, but they did mention the civil war at the Fire Nation and how they escaped from it with another friend of them who currently awaited for their return at the southern Air Temple. "You two are keeping secrets from me, for example, how did you, a member of the Water Tribe, ended at the opposite side of the world at the Fire Nation, and why you need to learn Aikido, for me it doesn't sound like a matter of knowledge hunting." Ty Lee was about to speak out when Sokka rudely covered her mouth.

"You don't speak, you only make things worse." Ty Lee crossed her arms and faced away, Sokka continued. "I am the bodyguard of a very important person I was hired to protect, so is Ty Lee, but she seeks for different ways to become stronger, right now she is concentrating in archery and looking for a way to compensate her lack of vision, I want to learn Aikido as my second Martial Art because I want to be able to fight Airbenders if needed."

"Airbenders? Nonsense! Airbenders are a peaceful civilization, while it is true Aikido is a technique that uses the air as the pillar of their movements, using it to fight airbenders is nonsense." Sokka nodded; unfortunately, he had no choice but obey the orders given to him by Master Piandao some years ago. "And you, Ty Lee, Aikido may help you regain some lost profundity in your daily life style, but what you need is not Aikido in its purest form but a variation of it known as the Baguazhang, I can teach it to you, but not entirely since I know only the basis."

"…Baguazhang…" Sokka stared at Ty Lee with questioning eyes, the girl noticed since Sokka was by her left where her only useful eye could see him. "Baguazhang is a style of martial arts that does circled movements, I'm not sure I can learn it, it is too different from my fighting style, I move too much, I never stay in the same place or take reference positions as Baguazang is supposed to… still… if it will help me find profundity in my movements, I will give it a try…" Sokka smiled, Ty Lee smiled back.

"Unfortunately it's not that simple, I said I may be able to teach you both, but, unfortunately… I don't trust any of you." The pair lowered their faces; Suki stood up and walked away. "If you two really want me to help you out, do something to prove your value… show me you have the guts to be warriors, bring a prove to me, and I will consider it… until then, don't ask me or any of my warriors for advice." She then left the room, followed by the village's mayor.

"Prove our value?" Ty Lee questioned Sokka, who moved his shoulders up and down not knowing what to say. "That girl has an awful temper, very similar to Azula's one, but she may be the only person who can teach us Aikido and Baguazhang… she beat us both in battle after all."

"I know, but if we want her to teach us, we need to find something to prove our value… but what could it be?" From the only open window, the Red Ribbon Hawk that was not long ago released from his cage came in, Sokka was glad to see him and rubbed his feathers, but the hawk wasn't there to be cared for but to win Sokka's attention by pulling his tunic. "What is it Hawky?" The Hawk flew away and out of the place. "I think he wants to tell us something." Both stared out of the window, but it was Ty Lee's incredible eye the one seeing what Hawky was trying to show them.

"Sokka, up there!" She yelled hard while pointing at the flying bison falling from the sky and then crashing at the forest near the shore. "Those were Appa and Yún!" Sokka nodded, both then ran out of the cottage they were at and toward the forest, Ty Lee, being faster than Sokka and more flexible, jumped from tree to tree at an incredible speed, amazing Sokka who just kept running and avoiding many bushes. "Yún!" Yelled Ty Lee hard when finally arriving to the crashing place, she was glad to know the air nomad girl was unharmed, although she rubbed her back while standing up. "Yún!" She hugged her hard, forcing the nomad to complain.

"Ught! Yeah, I missed you too Ty Lee." Once Sokka arrived, Ty Lee released the now gasping for air Yún. "Please don't do that ever again." Ty Lee smiled. "Sokka, good to see you." Sokka made a reverence, Yún delivered it back but then she faced Appa, the old sky bison was all wet, and so, it began moving wildly in order to dry his fur, unfortunately, that ended showering the trio. "Thanks a lot Appa!"

"Yún, what are you and Appa doing here? Weren't you supposed to be training Toph?" Yún nodded but then took the documents from out of her tunic, delivering them to Sokka, who was impressed by them. "Wow! These things must be about 80 years old!" Ty Lee rolled her only useful eye and abusing her flexibility, rested by the floor with her arms on the floor and her body doing a bow like figure so her feet rested at her head. "Show off." Sokka said, Ty Lee stuck her tongue out at him. "What is this? Some kind of a diary entry? The writing style is old… it speaks about a date lost in history… I read many history books when being Piandao's slave, this document is from a period of time that was lost in history."

"Lost in history? Let me read it!" With her foot, Ty Lee stole the document away from Sokka's hands. "I went to a wealthy school, I know all about history, well, sort off, Mai always helped me study." Ty Lee read the document; Sokka stared at her with interest since the girl seemed to be thinking about something. "I never heard or read about this at any boring history book, but I do remember Jeong Jeong telling me something about the days when he was young and trained Avatar Roku…" Sokka's and Yún's eyes widened when thinking about the age of the old master, Ty Lee continued. "Jeong Jeong told me there was a day erased from the Fire Nation history, a date a few months before the arrival of Zozin's comet; this is the same year the comet arrived at, only a few months earlier."

"A day erased from history? It must be a horrible day for the Fire Nation for it to be erased, is there no documentation about this anywhere?" Ty Lee moved her knees up and down as faking moving her shoulders, Sokka blinked twice at that last. "Anyway, something happened that day, maybe someone found some kind of weakness, learning from this date may lead us to find some tactics to end the civil war at the Fire Nation."

"Wait, you two aren't planning on returning to the Fire Nation and end the civil war, are you?" Ty Lee and Sokka exchanged looks. "Umm… but… with no civil war, perhaps prince Zuko or princess Azula could claim the throne and end the war." Once again Sokka and Ty Lee exchanged looks; Yún noticed and scratched the back of her head. "Ah! I mean, well, stopping the civil war is up to you, but if you really wish to do it then I think I know of a place where you can find the documentation you both need!" She then laughed nervously.

"Well… I'm not sure, I mean, I would like to stop the civil war and help everyone there at the Fire Nation, but we have a mission, I need to find an Aikido Master and Ty Lee needs to find a Baguazhang one." Ty Lee nodded; Yún was surprised to hear the martial arts name. "Placing our attention on the civil war doesn't sound like the right thing to do."

"There aren't many Baguazhang masters now days, but I know of a place where you can find Baguazhang technique scrolls as well as the information about the date on the document of the Fire Nation." All attention was then directed to Yún, the girl continued. "There is a place known as the Wan Shi Tong's library, I have been there a few times in the past, but that was long time ago, when I was just ten years old, I'm no longer sure about the location of the library, it used to be at Si Wong dessert near Ba Sing Se at the Earth Kingdom, but the last time I visited, it was gone, perhaps the guardian moved it back to the spiritual world." Ty Lee and Sokka once again exchanged looks; Yún gave them both an odd stare. "What? I'm the Avatar's granddaughter, I have visited the spiritual world before, I did it recently without grandpa's permission, which ended with me being punished by the spirits… but now I'm free to do whatever I want, if you two want to, I can take you to the library."

"Ooookkkaaaaayyy, and here I thought I was the crazy one, did you hear all that she said?" Sokka nodded. "Sweetheart, I also enjoy fairy tales and unicorns but please, we may look like it, but we are not stupid." Ty Lee smiled, but Sokka wasn't sharing the same emotions.

"Last time you send me to the spirit world, you were punished by your sins against the spirits, right now you don't seem to have forgotten that pain yet, are you sure you want to open those doors again?" Ty Lee blinked twice with her only useful eye; she could barely believe Sokka was buying it.

"I can open the door, but that doesn't mean I want to travel there once again." Sokka nodded. "Besides, I'm not the Avatar; I can't open the door toward the spirit world all the time, only during the times of the solstice when the spirits are closer to us than ever, right now the spirits still are running free at our world, it will be like this until the next full moon when the spirits will be guided back to the spiritual world, the full moon is in 3 days, so if you guys want to go to the spiritual world, you better hurry to decide, because once the third day is over, Kuruk will close the door to the spiritual world." Ty Lee's only eyebrow was raised at that last, Sokka nodded and thought about the possibilities.

"Hello! We were supposed to be finding a way to prove our value to Suki so she would train us, not thinking about sparkle dust and fairies." Sokka nodded at Ty Lee too, but did nothing to pick any path to follow. "Just forget about the spirit world, oh and Yún, why did you crash land? I thought you and Appa were skilled while flying."

"We are, but that stupid sea serpent came out and tried to eat us!" Sokka and Ty Lee then had the same idea, they smiled at each other's and then at Yún. "What is so funny about me being about to be eaten by the Unagi?"

"We needed to find a way to prove our value to the Kyoshi warriors! If we kill the Unagi, then the people from Kyoshi Island won't have to worry about fishing and traveling anymore, it is the perfect proof to our value!" Ty Lee nodded in agreement. "It won't be easy; all we know about the Unagi is that it is a giant sea serpent."

"A giant sea serpent you shouldn't mess with, the Unagi is a dweller of the depths of the ocean who feeds of Koi Fishes, this one made of Kyoshi Island its home, it will attack anything that goes close to the bay." Ty Lee and Sokka then both faced the same direction where Hawky was arguing with Momo as if they were mortal enemies. "No way! There is no way I'm allowing you to use Momo as bait!"

"It's ok, I trust Hawky will do the trick." The Red-Ribbon-Hawk flinched; Sokka and Ty Lee just smiled at him. "Everything will be fine Hawky, we got your back, and with your help, winning the Unagi's attention will be easy, and once it comes out we will finish it." Ty Lee nodded, Sokka clutched, Yún just prayed for the spirits to protect the poor red colored hawk about to go out on a suicide mission.

* * *

The sun was already hiding at the Southern Air Temple, but as usual, it wasn't until the low temperatures began hitting her skin when Toph finally realized the time it was, her day hasn't at all being an enjoyable one, with Yún leaving her since morning time in order to deliver some important documents for Sokka, and monk Pasang being busy with some politic procedures he was forced to attend to in order for the Air Nomads to be considered an independent culture. But Toph wasn't left with no supervision, all the contrary, she was being taken care of by Afiko, the youngest of the Monks Council men. "Princess or not, I hope you understand your status is something we monks don't care about, I can barely believe Pasang allowed you to stay at this temple, it is a disgrace, an insult to the spirits, first it was Yún, and now you? If I was the head monk I would never tolerate such disrespect!"

Toph rolled her blind eyes and tried to ignore the annoying monk walking around her as she tried as usual to concentrate in her meditation, it was a difficult task to do on her own, and having Afiko complaining about her all the time and walking around her didn't help her improve in the less. "I will hurt Sokka badly after this is over, while he is out there training and doing hero like stuff, I'm stuck here with the annoying monks."

"Remain in silence! Meditation is a conversation between you and the spirits, a conversation that is done with the mind, not with the lips, I suggest you start listening with your ears too since they seem to be failing you!" Toph bit her lips in annoyance; never in her young life did she expect to meet a monk as annoying as Afiko. "This is a responsibility I never asked for!"

"Weren't monks supposed to be free of all negative emotions?" She said to herself, luckily, this time Afiko didn't notice it. "And this is only my second day on my own, how am I to survive this?"

"Once you find internal peace, you will be able to stay calm even in the worst of situations." Toph smiled when hearing that voice and being hit with such peaceful vibrations, monk Pasang's meeting was over, and both Toph and Afiko were glad to know it. "I appreciate your help so far, Afiko, you can go in peace, the remaining of Toph's training I will handle on my own." Afiko made a reverence and stormed out of the room, Pasang rubbed his own chin with interest when noticing it. "Afiko is taking this matter quiet personally, your arrival strikes him with grief, or so I think."

"I learned to read emotions since I was five years old, I sense many things, like disapproval, annoyance, anger, impatience, and most recently, hatred, I thought monks were forbidden to have this kind of feelings." Pasang sat by Toph's side and took the lotus position; the girl went back to her meditation.

"Humans were blessed with emotions, every single one, from rage and hatred, to love and care, are a blessing, we monks aren't exempt of having these emotions, we just grow to accept the good ones, and reduce the influence of the bad ones." Toph nodded, although for her it was still too difficult to control her emotions, she was a hard tempered girl after all. "When your training in our way of life is finished Toph, you will learn how to control your emotions, but that doesn't mean you will never feel them again, the entire contrary, you will feel every emotion individually and finally understand your true feelings instead of allowing a mixture of feelings to blind your judgment."

"Blind my judgment? Master Pasang, you hurt me, I would spec a blind joke from anyone but you." She smiled, Monk Pasang noticed what he just said and smiled back, soon both Master and apprentice began laughing out loud. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself."

"There is a lot we both need to learn about one another, we won't always be together, after all, the deal was to leave you at Yún's care." Toph nodded, Pasang stood up, and she did the same. "I am thinking perhaps, we could learn to control our emotions using different procedures, I have heard earthbenders are proud, strong, and sarcastic, show your bending to me."

"My bending?" Pasang nodded. "If you say so." Toph then slammed her foot by the floor and forced the floor to move wildly, creating spears of dirt and stone with her bending, and then forcing them to move in circles all around the temple, Pasang observed it all with interested eyes. "Master Yu says my bending is already complete, but there is something I don't understand about my bending, I think perhaps you can find the answer." Pasang waited for Toph to continue, the girl did. "Master Yu told me to dominate 5 teachings so I could be as strong as avatar Kyoshi…"

"The Five teachings Avatar Kyoshi left behind for her students to learn I presume." Toph was surprised to find out Pasang had such knowledge about the teachings. "The first rule speaks about the earth as a living element; do you understand what it means?"

"I think so; every time I use my earthbending, I can feel the earth as if I was being feed with its life energy, when bending, I feel alive, as if I was finally complete, I love earthbending." Pasang nodded. "Also, earth is alive in many ways too, since everything comes from the earth, it is full with life from plants that grow on it, I can feel that energy as if I could use it."

"Maybe you can, have you considered that probability." Toph scratched her chin; the thought never crossed her mind. "But that obviously is only a probability, what about the second teaching, use the earth as an extension of yourself?"

"I always do, my personality changes a little with each different type of earth I bend, from mud, to stone, each time I bend it I place a part of myself on it, and unleash it, is like bending myself, since earth and I are one." Pasang nodded once again, Toph had the attitude of a real bending master. "Actually, I believe the first, second and third teachings are much the same."

"They are related but are not the same, the third teachings asks about protecting the earth from harm, aren't you saddened when you witness how earth is destroyed by the influence of men?" Toph nodded, Pasang smiled. "Never forget that feeling, Toph, you should always protect the earth you bend."

"But what about the last two teachings, the essence of earth is also your own, and a bender is as strong as their heart, are those two only support ones?" Pasang smiled, Toph felt the vibrations and thought it was best to remain in silence and wait.

"Those two are teachings you will have to learn on your own, all I can do is give you a little advice about how to understand them." Toph nodded. "Think about a waterbender, with the power to control the water, its movements are dynamic, but graceful, because their blood dances with the water they bend. A firebender, its temper is explosive and erratic; they are also full with an incredible energy because the nature of their powers force them to be like that. An airbender is calm, like the wind, but they can also be unpredictable and strong. And an earthbender is strong and prideful, and like earth itself, they are always changing, but even the tallest mountain can become dust."

"So, the essence of a bender relies in the personality?" Pasang moved his head in negation, Toph couldn't help but notice the similarity between Pasang and Yu, both were never straight forward. "I don't get it."

"The elements bender's control are their way of life but never rule their personality, take Afiko as an example, he is an airbender, but his personality is more explosive, he would be a perfect firebender." Toph giggled. "Think about the full potential of a bender and you will understand the last teachings, if a waterbender were to want to control the water entirely, it would stop the blood running through their veins, if a firebender loses control of the fire they dance with, their bodies will be consumed by the flames, if an airbender loses control over his abilities, there is no telling what the raging power of the wind would do, and as for the earthbenders, think about the five teachings, if earth is alive, if earth is an extension of yourself, if you can feel the pain of earth itself, and if the essence of earth is your own, you will not only bend the earth but become one with it." Toph's eyes widened, she never thought about that possibility.

"Avatar Kyoshi lost her humanity when trying to master her own last teachings… how could she lose her humanity? She was the Avatar." Pasang stood up and made a reverence, which meant the training session for today was now over, Toph, who never stopped bending the place since the teaching began, allowed earth to stop and bended it back to the original form, leaving the temple intact. "I still want to be the greatest earthbender."

"And you will surely be, but you must never forget the last teaching, one that is said not even Avatar Kyoshi was able to master." Toph was surprised to hear that last, Pasang smiled for Toph, giving her warm vibrations. "When Avatar Kyoshi was alive, she came to this temple seeking for equilibrium, but she was impatient, or so said the elders of our civilization when I was a young monk." Toph smiled when hearing that last, Avatar Kyoshi was here in this same temple long time ago, hundreds of years before Toph was actually born. "The monk who taught her airbending said something to her… her shattered humanity could no longer be restored, she was already closer to be an earth spirit than to be a human, all because she never learned to put her heart into her bending instead of her spirit."

"Bending with the spirit?" Pasang nodded, Toph pulled her own hair hard trying to understand, but she ended just hurting herself. "I don't get it… seriously…" Pasang laughed at the young earthbending master, the girl couldn't help but smile. "What's so funny?" She continued giggling.

"Toph, never forget all that keeps you being human, because that feeling will be the only one allowing you to keep your humanity when the spirits try to claim you." Toph raised an eyebrow, not really understanding Pasang. "Just promise it." She nodded. "Good girl, for today your training is over, you can be back to train your bending if you wish it." But Toph, at least for today, didn't feel like earthbending at all.

* * *

"The sun is already hiding and the Unagi isn't coming out, how is your vision, Ty Lee?" Ty Lee moved her head in negation, she no longer had the proper light to aim anymore, Sokka lowered his head, their time was running out, and Hawky was still unable to force the Unagi out of the water. "Hawky is tired as well; he had being flying all day trying to taunt the Unagi out, maybe we should think about a different way."

"I need my beauty rest!" Yelled Ty Lee in annoyance, she finally let go out of her archery pose and threw herself to the soft grass near the beach, she pulled her own extremities due to her laziness, and rested her feet by a tree, ending in an upside down sitting position. "Can we sleep please? I'm tired, I need a bath and I'm hungry!"

"I told you two the Unagi wasn't going to waste its time trying eating such a small prey as Hawky." Yún spoke out while in the middle of the lotus pose, she never thought she was going to find herself involved in this, but she had to guide the pair of mercenaries to the spiritual world, and now less than 3 days remained. "I can sense the Unagi, it is close, but seems to have no interest in Hawky." Sokka nodded and placed his arm in position, the Red-Ribbon-Hawk landed at his arm, it quickly fell asleep.

"Good work Hawky, you deserve some sleep." Sokka placed Hawky by the branch of a nearby tree, where Momo was sleeping, it was late, and the efforts of the group were fruitless. "Well, since we have little time, I will have to be the bait." Yún and Ty Lee both lost their equilibrium and fell, one from her weird position and the other breaking the lotus pose. "Yún can feel the Unagi coming, and Ty Lee, despite being late and not having that good of an aim at night, is the only one who can use a bow, I will just have to trust my life to you girls."

"But Sokka!" Sokka ignored Ty Lee and ran into the water; Ty Lee just nervously picked her bow and arrow up. "I hate it when he is like this! He has no heart! He always does reckless things without caring about my feelings!" Yún stared at Ty Lee, the girl blushed. "What? He is sexy, monk or not you should admit it." The silver haired girl was about to speak when she suddenly directed her attention to the water.

"The Unagi is moving!" Ty Lee aimed; Sokka was swimming deeper and deeper, which didn't help Ty Lee feel any better. "It is swimming in circles around Sokka, it will attack anytime soon." Ty Lee gulped, she was trying to aim properly, but the little light from the sun was finally gone, just then the Unagi came out. "Move!" Yelled Yún hard and Sokka switched the direction of his swimming just in time for the creature to come out and miss the biting.

"Aim to his eye!" Yelled Sokka hard as the giant and black skinned sea serpent got ready to attack once again. "Do it! Now!" Ty Lee fired, the arrow hit the serpent, but at the jaw instead of the green eyes of the creature. "You missed! Fire again before it…!" But Sokka couldn't end the sentence since the Unagi had splashed the water near him by the pain, the serpent struggled, Sokka took his sword out and stabbed the creature, but only in order to climb it and keep himself away from the now raging water. "Ty Lee! Hurry! If it dives then we will never have another chance!"

"I'm trying! Having only one useful eye is not helping you know!" She fired again, and Sokka had to dodge the arrow since it flew dangerously close to his face. "I can't see! Sokka! Get out of the water!" Yún took her staff and got ready to jump into action, but then she stopped when noticing Sokka had pulled out a sharp looking boomerang from his tunic, it shined with the reflex of the moon. "I see something!" Spoke Ty Lee out while getting the bow and arrow ready, Sokka threw the boomerang toward the face of the creature, since the object was sharp, it buried close to its eyes. "What do I do now?"

"Try to aim at the reflex and fire! The reflex points at its face, you should be able to see its eyes easily now!" Sokka fought hard to stay on top of the furious beast that was now swimming at a great speed trying to pull Sokka out of its back, but Sokka was well secured to the back of the animal. "One clear shot between the eyes Ty Lee, that will be enough!" The girl nodded, she could now focus her eyes toward the reflex of Sokka's boomerang and prepared to shot, but only a few seconds before she fired, she had second thoughts and moved her arm an inch, giving her arrow a different direction and it ended staved against the Unagi's belly, the monster complained by the pain and swum its way toward the shore, only to collapse there weakly.

Upon hitting land, Sokka pulled his sword from the Unagi's body and ran to its head, ready to give him the final blow, but Ty Lee stopped him. "Wait! This is unfair! We aren't hunting the Unagi for eating or defending against it, we hunted it to gain the favor of the Kyoshi warriors, I don't know about you, but hunting a prey just to prove my value as a hunter or warrior doesn't feel right." Sokka thought about it for a few seconds, back at the Water Tribe he would have killed the creature without having second thoughts only to earn a place in the history of his tribe, but many things changed since his days at the Water Tribe, he has spent more of his life time away from it, and no longer felt identified with his brothers out there, and so, he hid his sword, sparing the life of the Unagi. "We will find a different way to prove our value."

Yún smiled at the two mercenaries, she then approached to the Unagi and asked Momo to do the same, the creature was tired and weak, and wouldn't attack the ones approaching even if it wanted to. Yún then placed Momo on the Unagi's forehead and placed her right hand against its skin as well; she shut her eyes close and spoke to the Unagi. "These warriors spared your life, they attacked you because you scare the people living at the village nearby." Sokka and Ty Lee exchanged odd looks; they both then flinched when noticing Momo was shining with a spiritual like aura. "You can feed of Koi Fishes elsewhere, just be careful and stay away from humans." She said while pulling the boomerang and the couple of arrows out of the Unagi's body. "Humans are easy to be scared, be careful, since not all humans have the common sense these two have, now go, your wounds will take some time to heal, but you will no longer be hunted."

Momo then jumped to Yún's arms, and once that was done, the Unagi moved away from shore and began swimming its way toward the ocean. Sokka and Ty Lee were amazed by the ability of Yún to communicate with the animals, but never questioned the girl about such abilities and just stared at the Unagi swimming away. "There goes our ticked to Aikido and Baguazhang, now to think about a different way to find a master." Ty Lee nodded, the group turned around and were about to return to Kyoshi Village, when they all noticed Suki was there and staring at both warriors. "Suki?"

"I saw more than enough… two no benders fighting against the Unagi, one risking his life recklessly to win its attention, and the other one launching random arrows in hopes to kill the beast, I must say that didn't impress me in the less." Both Sokka and Ty Lee lowered their faces, Suki approached to them. "Still, I will help you both, since you showed a kind heart when sparing the Unagi's life, I don't know if I will end regretting this, but a deal is a deal, you proved your value, and I will teach you Aikido and the basic forms of Baguazhang."

"Thank you!" Ty Lee launched herself toward Suki and hugged her strongly; Sokka just pulled her away from the Kyoshi warrior a few seconds after Ty Lee's hugging began. "See Sokka? We got a master, one that will help us in our mission!"

"I'm as glad as you are but, Ty Lee, she only knows the basis of Baguazhang, and we need to find the information we need about the darkest day of the Fire Nation." Suki stared at the group with interest, the one eyed girl just filled her cheeks with air in annoyance, she really didn't believe in the spirit world traveling being possible. "Sifu Suki, I appreciate your help, but right now we must travel in search of the ancient library of Wan Shi Tong."

"Then I will travel with you." The group exchanged looks; Suki just stared at Sokka with interest. "There are many things you two haven't told me about, I find your situation quiet mysterious, a Fire Nation girl traveling with a Water Tribe boy, and both knowing an Air Nomad girl, whatever your reasons are, I plan to find them out, so, as long as your training takes place, I will travel wherever you go."

"And I will go too! At least for now!" Yelled Yún happily. "I am, after all, your only connection to the spirit's world, once we find the library, I'm going back to the temple, until then, please take care of me ok?" Sokka flinched; he was now the only male member of the group, which placed him in a kind of uncomfortable situation. "Toph will have to forgive me, but the potential of these two is something I really want to see." Yún spoke to herself in a whisper, joining their travels had yet a different meaning, one that could probably anger the spirits once again.


	15. A World of Knowledge

**Slavery Mark: Book Two – Air.**

**Chapter Five: A World of Knowledge.**

* * *

"The spirits are about to leave this world and return to their sacred realm, far away from the influence of man, far away from this world they hate and love so much, I can feel different reactions of their judgment, tonight their final decision will be taken." Avatar Aang walked by the corridors of what seemed to be an ancient library, he was holding many books in his hands, although he enjoyed looking at the pictures more than reading the whole thing. "My granddaughter is close to finding your sacred library, my old friend, I was wondering, what are your intentions toward these visitors."

"Avatar Aang, my library was once open to humans, and despite being one of the wiser spirits there exist, I'm afraid I have little interest in the destiny of humans after what happened the last time one entered my library." The voice came from the deepest insides of the library, the old Avatar smiled, the spirit of knowledge, the sacred guardian of the biggest library ever known, was always aware of everything inside of his library, but never aware of what happened outside. "Give me just one good reason as to why should I allow humans to step inside of my library? Those creatures don't deserve my knowledge, not after what I lost; the knowledge that was lost back then is one that will never return."

"I had love to, but it isn't me the one who should convince you, it is them." Silence invaded the library, Aang just laughed out loud at a few drawings he saw on one of the many books. "I love these drawings, but most of the books here don't have them, it is a pity." From the dark corridors, a shadow seemed to move; Aang stared at it and smiled. "The spirit council asks for your assistance, will you leave your door open for those seeking for knowledge?"

"Avatar Aang, in honor of our past friendship, I will keep my door open, but that doesn't mean I will allow the chosen ones to claim this knowledge, humans are weak, and they must prove their value to me, otherwise I will vote for their elimination." Avatar Aang nodded and then walked away, heading to the front doors of the library. "My judgment, however, is almost unchangeable, Avatar Aang, humans have proven to be incomplete, even your past incarnations proven to be weak, the future of humanity, is no longer clear, but as every piece of history, I will preserve it in my library."

"I suggest you don't allow your judgment to be blinded by your hatred, my friend, spirits may be complete, but they were also the ones giving their emotions to humans, I wonder, who is more incomplete, a spirit who feels a single emotion at a time but to its fullest, or a human who feels many at the same time but never one entirely?" The spirit hiding at the shadows said nothing; Avatar Aang just opened the huge doors leading to the outside world, the world of the spirits. "Sokka, you better defend your ideals, if you allow doubt to consume you, the spirit's judgment will never change."

* * *

"You are doing many reckless movements! Do not avoid the wind! Use it as a tool to increase your movement speed! If you learn to read the wind and move with it, then there won't be open spaces in your defense!" Suki yelled at Sokka, who was standing with only one foot at the top of a stone made pillar, Yún was launching many calm wind currents toward him so Sokka could try and read the speed and direction of the wind. With fans in hand, Sokka tried to follow the wind, but he wasn't used to it yet and his equilibrium was broken. "No! The fans should move with the wind! Not against it!" But Sokka was no longer able to keep the equilibrium and fell. "Your mind is elsewhere! If you want to dominate Aikido, you need to concentrate in your surroundings!"

"I'm trying! This is so different from Chi Blocking! Ty Lee taught me to concentrate in my objective and not my surroundings! She said the key to hand to hand combat remains in your ability of reading your enemy's movements!" Suki then glared at Ty Lee, the girl was gasping for air due to the intense training she had not long ago, and because of the heat of the sun hitting her bruised skin, it was a horrible sunny day at the Earth Kingdom, and Suki's training wasn't helping at all. "Can I rest now?" Suki nodded, Sokka then collapsed.

"Your turn, Ty Lee! Stand up!" The girl quickly did as she was told; her whole body was shaking due to the pain of her effort and strong training. "Baguazhang fighting stance!" Ty Lee nodded, she placed her left leg back and right one in front, she then spread her arms, the right one down and right and the left one up and left, it was a weird pose, one that for Sokka's point of view, left her exposed to any attack, but in reality, the pose gave her a range of attack and defense, one that was ruled by an spherical position. "Now, get ready." Suki took a bag filled with small rocks from her tunic, she then took one in her hand, Ty Lee began shaking, she hated this inhuman training so much. "Start!"

"Wait! I'm not ready!" She yelled hard, but Suki ignored her and threw the rock toward her, Ty Lee moved fast and hit the rock that was moving at a huge speed toward her left leg with her left hand, Suki smiled, this time she threw a rock to her right, close to her ankle, Ty Lee kicked it away using the sole of her foot. "It hurts!" She yelled between tears as she continued blocking rocks with her extremities, minus her left leg which always stayed in the same position since she used it as reference to do radial movements, keeping her defense zone being an imaginary sphere drawn by her body's movements. A rock moved dangerously close to her useful eye, and instead of blocking, she dodged. "That wasn't nice!" She yelled hard.

"Don't dodge! Block! Baguazhang isn't about dodging! If you lose your position, then you are done for! Learn to block instead of evade! Each move you do must be perfect! The minor mistake and your position is breached!" This was a difficult training for Ty Lee, she was used to run and dodge and do some acrobatic moves, staying at a same point and defend her position wasn't at all her fighting style, but with only an useful eye, she needed to be more defensive and less offensive, Baguazhang was supposed to teach her how to protect a perimeter, her fighting area, the impenetrable fortress. "You left your guard down!" A small rock was thrown to her blind zone; it hit her forehead and knocked her down. "Your left leg should always stay in the floor! It marks your radius! And pay attention to your surroundings! Reading your enemy's movements isn't enough if you don't know how to counter them, so you can move at the speed you need you need to learn about the direction of the air, the temperature, the profundity and the density of the air! Everything!" Suki was combining perfectly Aikido with her little knowledge about Baguazhang, such teachings were ones Ty Lee could use to improve her imperfect fighting style. "When night falls, you are helpless! Learn how to feel your surroundings and you will be unstoppable, even at night!"

"Hey, Suki, give those two a break will you? Tonight we have a full moon and we still need to find Professor Zei, without his knowledge of the Si Wong Desert we will never find the library on time." Suki crossed her arms in annoyance but nodded in agreement, Sokka and Ty Lee both collapsed and rested back against back at the hot but refined sand that was found on the city they were currently at. The city's name is the Misty Palm City, it used to be a small oasis in the middle of the desert with a pillar of ice coming out from the middle of the oasis, but due to King Lao's interest in such phenomena, he asked many researchers to find the reason behind a pillar of ice being found in a desert, they eventually discovered and underground cavern, rich with rivers and ice, a paradise in the desert, and so the Misty Palm City was founded. "Sokka, come on map boy, wake up, we need to find the library."

"Fine, I'm awake, I'm awake." Sokka stood up weakly and Ty Lee did the same, Sokka then took a map out of his tunic and began reading it. "I never thought I was ever going to visit this place, according to Master Piandao's books, this place is the only place on the Earth Kingdom where Water Tribe people can live and avoid the slavery status."

"Really?" Sokka nodded at Ty Lee's words, he then pointed toward the iceberg standing tall in the middle of the city, many Water Tribe scholars were there and taking fragments of the iceberg in order to do some research, of course they were always accompanied by Earth Kingdom supervisors. "Is this because of what you said yesterday? About how Lao Bei Fong wanted to investigate the mystery of the iceberg in the middle of the desert?"

"Who better to investigate something water based than my tribe? Of course all these people are from the Northen Water Tribe, we from the South Pole were always at war and well, for obvious reasons, the Earth King never approached to us, all the contrary, we were at war with both the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation." Ty Lee nodded sadly, Sokka just smiled. "Hey, don't mind me, I no longer feel like a slave, just look at my hand, the Slavery Mark is no longer there, only a natural tattoo."

"Slavery Mark, eh?" Sokka flinched at Suki's words, Ty Lee did the same, Sokka was used to talking with Ty Lee and Toph about his times as a slave that he forgot the new comer to their group had no idea. "That's a piece of good information, so I'm training a former Water Tribe slave, I wonder why you have the need of learning Aikido that much now, perhaps revenge against my kingdom?" Sokka moved his head in negation, Suki just smiled teasingly. "Are you sure?" She made a teasing approach, however, her intentions were never accusative ones, Ty Lee noticed and placed herself between the two.

"Sokka would never do such a thing; he is too handsome as to believe in revenge, right, Sokka?" She began clinging to Sokka's arm while giving her back to Suki as drawing a divisor line between the Sifu and her student. "Sokka suffered so much in the past, but no worries, Ty Lee will help you ease your pain!" She added happily, Sokka rolled his eyes.

"Oh, I get the picture, I apologize to you, Ty Lee, I didn't know Sokka and you were an item." Both flinched at that last, Yún just fought her laughter while taking Sokka's map from his hands, it was obvious Sokka wasn't going to be able to use the map anymore. "Why are you looking at me liked that?"

"We are not!" Ty Lee pushed Sokka away; she then began shaking with fear. "No good! I'm doing it again! But it's his fault for being so sexy!" Sokka sweat dropped, Ty Lee just pulled her hair strongly. "If her highness were to find out about this, she would be awfully mad at me, I need to control myself, maybe do some yoga, I need something to distract my mind with!" She yelled while taking her bow out so she could begin fixing the string.

"What's her problem?" Added Suki after the little display of madness from her new student, Sokka just slapped his own forehead hard as reply. "Well, all this time I thought you and her were an item, sorry about such inconvenient." Sokka nodded, Suki rubbed her face because of the sweet, and so, her makeup was ruined. "Oh, great, just what I needed."

"Here, use my handkerchief." Sokka then began cleaning her face, Suki blushed at the action, Ty Lee, who noticed the approach, broke her bow in half in annoyance. "Eh? Ty Lee, you just…" The girl woke up from her shock and then began crying for her broken bow, Suki just blinked twice at everything that was going on and turned around trying to hide a more than evident blush, evident for everyone but Sokka. "Girls… they are such weird persons…"

"Or maybe you are a master of seduction." Added Yún while returning to reading the map of the city they were walking on and rubbing Momo, who was sleeping by her neck. "Good to know I made a chastity vow, anyway, we must hurry and find the library, Appa dislikes being locked in a stable, Sokka nodded and followed Yún around the city, Ty Lee and Suki both did the same after recovering from their respective shocks. "According to this map, the Zei library is adorned with many spiked towers, Sokka, send Hawky to look for something like that." Sokka nodded and moved his head to the hawk, the Red-Ribbon-Messenger-Hark, now a War-Hawk, flew from Sokka's shoulder and searched for the building with spiked towers Yún was talking about. "I thought I would like crowded cities, but this way of life is so different from the air temples, I find it to be very noisy."

"Well, let's hope the library is a little more quiet then." Hawky then began flying in circles and then flew toward the north, Sokka followed the hawk, the group did the same. The city was crowded and it was hard to walk around, especially for Ty Lee, who kept crashing with the many people walking by her right, she couldn't concentrate in many images at the same time, so she took Sokka's hand, not with flirting intentions, but because she was dizzy. "The eye of an archer and the ability of to read someone's movements, but when it goes to seeing in a crowded city, you get all dizzy." Ty Lee nodded sadly. "Don't worry; even moments like these help you find more profundity in your eye sight." She nodded and stared at every direction trying to fix her focus, Ty Lee's eye was a wonder, but also a burden, more training was needed before she could move freely as she used to. "Here we are, the Zei library."

"And inside we will find professor Zei." Yún said while running inside of the library, followed by everyone else. The Zei library was full with many scholars from the four nations, wise monks from the temples seeking for knowledge, Fire Nation war researchers, and politicians from the Earth Kingdom, there were even many Water Tribe scholars doing research about caves and underground rivers for their explorations, Sokka faced away, as the former prince of the Water Tribe, even if it was a different tribe than his own, being discovered could be dangerous, but he was glad his brothers weren't seen as slaves. "There he is! Professor Zei!" The many around the library tried to shut the girl up in annoyance; she smiled toward them but then ran toward the professor, who was reading some maps in the middle of the room. "Zei!"

"Yún?" The professor was then tackled down by the energy-full airbender, Suki quickly helped them both up. "A tunic from the Kyoshi Island! You must be one of the warriors of Kyoshi!" Suki made a reverence, professor Zei then allowed his jaw to drop as he ran toward the weak Ty Lee. "A Yuan bow! You must be one of the Yu Yan Archers! But your skin isn't tattooed; perhaps you failed the initiation exam?" Ty Lee moved her head in negation and smiled. "And what do we have here? Oh! A Water Tribe traveler! And you are not a slave? Mind if I see your hand?" Zei took Sokka's hand, the Water Tribe one flinched but allowed the professor to stare at the star shaped scar he now had. "It was burned perfectly! Whoever did this was a genius with the art of the flames, I have never seen a tattoo this perfect since the one your grandfather had, Yún, oh! The color of your skin is different! You are from the south! A survivor from the Southern Water Tribe!"

The group flinched; many around the library were now staring at Sokka, especially those from the Water Tribe. "We better continue with this conversation elsewhere." The girls nodded, the 3 then pulled professor Zei out of the library, Sokka's identity was a subject of admiration among the members of the Water Tribe, but one of them, a proud Water Tribe warrior whose whole body was surrounded by bandages, couldn't help but stare at the group as they left the library, but he was placing special attention to Sokka.

"…I found you… after so many years I finally found you…" He said to himself while placing his blue cloak on and walking out of the library. "…My prince… it is about time you return the glory to our shattering tribe…"

* * *

At the air temple of the south, Toph resumed her earthbending training after not caring about it for such a long time, her skills were as impressive as ever, every air nomad would immediately notice it, even master Yu would be proud of her ability at bending the earth, she had already mastered 3 of the 5 teachings left by Avatar Kyoshi for her followers to learn, but two still evaded her, those teachings that pushed avatar Kyoshi to lose her humanity. As Toph bended the earth, she began wondering about the meaning of such teachings, Pasang, her current Master, mentioned the meaning of the teachings to her, but until discovering the meaning herself, these two teachings would keep avoiding her.

The more thoughts she placed on these two teachings, the more her bending began changing; at first it was strong and powerful, although always being perfect with every move, but then it slowed down, it was still a display of power, but something had changed, it held more life than before, the earth moved with the slightest move of her fingers, doing waves like movements around her feet, the many monks around the place interrupted their activities to stare at the young princess as she bended the earth around the little green fields of the temple, for their eyes, even the grass seemed to dance as the waves of a calm ocean. "…What is this feeling…? I never bended like this before… I feel… complete…"

"A beautiful bending the one you have, Toph." The blind girl interrupted her bending, she couldn't believe she was so immersed in her bending that she never noticed the peaceful monk that arrived, Pasang just smiled and continued his march toward the blind girl. "Your sensing is as impressive as usual as well, Toph, and even more, you could finally sense earth itself, you may be finally ready to try and master the last two teachings, but, don't try to force yourself into doing it so, the results could end being very different than what you may expect if you do."

"With all respect, Master Pasang, I doubt an air bender could understand what it is like to be an earth bender, we are opposite elements, I can barely stand being surrounded by air benders, and it's so annoying… no offence" Pasang smiled, he then began walking away, Toph followed him. "So, what will be today's lesson? Something about the meaning of life or something?"

"Now that was a nice sarcasm, full only with teasing emotions and never with harmful intensions." Toph followed her master until arriving to one of the most illuminated rooms of the temple, of course to her blind eyes illumination meant nothing, but for the many plants around the place, it was life. Pasang then sat down in front of a flowerpot. "Here we will resume your training, a training about essence, something that will help you understand the nature of the fourth teaching, keep in mind Toph, that this training will only guide you to the beginning of your understanding."

"Well, I suppose you know what you are doing and all that, after all, who better to teach about essence than a monk… but what's the big deal with the flowerpot…? Don't tell me we are going to take care of a garden…" Pasang laughed, Toph lowered her face. "I don't need vibration reading to know what that laugh is for, just great, I went from earth bending champion to florist."

"Avatar Kyoshi, before losing her humanity, she was proud of the earth, and not only dirt, mud, sand, and stone, but grass and plants as well. Every plant, no matter how small or big it is has earth on it, they also have water of course since it is a living form, but they identify with earth more than water." Toph nodded, although, in reality, she had no idea of what Pasang was talking about. "The essence of the plants is much the same of the earth, and the essence of an earthbender exist in the earth they bend, so, in theory, a plant can be bended by an earthbender."

"Really? I'm an earthbender, how come I never could do that? I actually never thought about it." Pasang then offered his hand to Toph, the girl could sense he was holding something on it, and so she extended her hand to him, accepting the object and moving her fingers around it. "A seed?"

"As I mentioned, today we are going to try and understand the essence of earth, this seed is small, but if planted correctly, it can grow tall and healthy, Toph, I want you to concentrate in the life energy of this seed, and force it to grow." Toph gave Pasang an awkward blind stare, the highest monk smiled. "So far, my teachings have served you well, haven't they?" The girl nodded. "Then, take this seed and plant it, use only the earth you know it will help it grow, and as long as you are taking care of this seed, you will see how your essence and the one of this seed become one, once that is done, perhaps you will understand the meaning of the fourth teaching."

"But… is it really possible… to bend the life of a plant…? Bending metal was already something hard to do… bending a plant feels impossible." Pasang stood up, made a reverence, and walked away, Toph ran her fingers around the seed once again, for a while she did nothing but that, but then she took the lotus position and began adding some earth to the flowerpot, planting the seed and taking care of it. "I invented metal bending, and I'm the only one who can do it… Kyoshi invented essence bending… perhaps she was the only one that could do it… but I will also do it… not even Kyoshi will be better than me at bending… I will become the greatest earthbender ever."

Toph resumed her training, she began meditating as if trying to force her energy into the seed, for her it was something fruitless, but in order to be stronger than Avatar Kyoshi, even the most fruitless efforts was important, she was concentrating on her task so hard that she never noticed Afiko, the youngest of the members of the monk's councilmen, staring at her with hatred evident in his grey eyes. "You are a danger for our way of life, and I will make sure you leave, even if it means allowing mercenaries inside of our sacred temple." Afiko then walked away.

* * *

"This is incredible! A Kyoshi warrior from the Earth Kingdom, the granddaughter of the Avatar from the Southern Air Temple, the daughter of a noble of the Fire Nation and from the Southern Water Tribe a prin…" Sokka covered professor Zei's mouth for what seemed to be the eleventh time that day; he was already losing his temper. "I'm so sorry, but witnessing this, one member of each culture, all of them searching for the ancient library of Wan Shi Tong! I have searched for it for so long!"

"Yes professor, you said that already." Said Sokka while pulling his own face down in annoyance. "Listen, according to what Yún mentioned, the library was once in this desert, but when the oasis filled itself with life, the guardian spirit of the library closed its doors to humans, now, Yún here is our key to open that door, now we just need to find the door, professor, only you can guide us to the place the library was last seen." The group nodded in agreement, professor Zei was honored, such news were incredible. "Yún will take us on her flying bison; we just need a direction to follow."

"I have explored these lands for so long, but I think I may have a clue, this is a map of the desert, my explorations have leaded me to believe the library was once established on this region, exactly where is hard to tell, but this is the perfect place to start since…" Zei's explanation continued while the group enjoyed a mango made juice that was famous at the bars of the Misty Palm City. Ty Lee had finished her first and second drinks already, her head was still spinning because of the movement that existed at Misty Palm City, but her vision was already improving, unfortunately, her head wasn't one hundred percent ready to listen to Zei's tale about the desert, and so, she went looking for another mango juice.

Several tables away from the group, a different group was also sharing the same juice. "Uncle, I'm already losing my coolness, we have been everywhere in the Earth Kingdom, we aren't tourists, we are in a mission, and so far this mission had been fruitless." Azula spoke out and then continued drinking her juice, Iroh just smiled for her and stared at the many sand bottles he had bought recently, he did feel like he was in the middle of a vacation. "Uncle, you buy sand from each place you visit, it's only sand, there is nothing special about it, you should be concentrating in our mission, that mercenary you hired had delivered no news about the earth princess's whereabouts since our last meeting."

"June is the best in the world in what she does, you should believe in her abilities a little more, Azula, besides, I have this feeling our search is almost coming to an end, otherwise, our mercenary wouldn't have asked for us to wait for her at a bar in a huge city in the middle of nowhere." Azula began tapping her foot, she was impatient, she expected results, or at least a small clue of where the princess could be so she would lead them to Sokka, they needed to follow this plan in this order since with Toph they would be able to control Sokka who was the only key Azula had in order to enter the Northern Water Tribe and negotiate a prince exchange, or so it was the way Azula wanted to see it, since finding the earth princess had also its own meaning, for example, helping her claim the throne of her now sick father. "There is so much we need to do and so little time, if the Earth King doesn't see his daughter soon, there is no telling if the illness that stroke him will consume him entirely."

"Earth King? Who cares about that old hag? All I care about is about using Toph to control Sokka and get my brother back."Iroh moved his head in negation; Azula just took a deep breath "I'm tired of traveling around this kingdom!"

"I would relax if I were you, princess." Both Iroh and Azula turned around to see June; the mercenary sat down and smiled. "I have news that you surely will like, we found the princess." Azula held her excitement and asked June to continue. "First things first, I want my payment." Iroh nodded and gave a bag with coins to the mercenary. "Very good, the Rouge Rhinos are already on their way, your princess had been hiding at the Southern Air temple for quite some time already, an insider told that to me not long ago."

"The Southern Air Temple? We have been wasting our time here at the Earth Kingdom! But you said they saw a mercenary with a black sword heading to the Earth Kingdom two days ago! Uncle, were you lying at me?" Iroh moved his head in negation, Azula, who was already sick of these trips around the Earth Kingdom, stood up and left the table, allowing June and Iroh to speak about what to do next. While Azula stormed away, she collided with someone and her clothes were all covered in mango juice, she quickly grabbed the responsible by the collar, and ended face to face with someone she knew well. "…Ty Lee…?"

"…Azula…?" Both girls stared at each other's, it had been so long since they last met, when the civil war exploded, Ty Lee just disappeared, Azula thought perhaps her friend had died in the war, and now she was there, in front of her, and with an eye patch. "Azula!" Ty Lee could no longer hold her excitement; she hugged the Fire Princess hard while jumping up and down. "Oh, it's so great to see you again! What are you doing here? And why are you wearing those Earth Kingdom clothes? Is everything ok at the Fire Nation? Are you hurt? How is Mai?"

"Wait, stop, stop! First of all, what are you doing here? How dare you not telling me you were still alive? And what in the world happened with your eye?" Ty Lee began playing with her ponytail nervously, she then faced the floor. "You lost your eye?" Ty Lee nodded. "But how? The last time we met, I ordered you to take care of the Earth Princess and then… the Earth Princess, you know where she is, don't you?"

"Ah? Well, you see, Azula, it is a long and funny story." Azula's hands were then surrounded by flames, Ty Lee gulped. "I'm sorry Azula! Forgive me for this!" Ty Lee then kicked Azula, the Fire Princes was slammed against a table, and the mango juice of one of the costumers ended all around his clothes, his friend laughed at him only to be punched by the victim of the mango juice attack, then it happened, as in every bar of the Earth Kingdom, chaos exploded, which Ty Lee took as an advantage to run toward the table were the group was, she took Sokka by the hand and began running away, Suki followed her students, Yún took Zei's hand and pulled him out of the bar as well. "No time to explain! Run, if she sees you then she will kill you!"

"Ty Lee, wait, what are you talking about?" Sokka said while keeping his free hand by his shoulder as preventing Hawky from falling due to his reckless movements. "What did you do this time, Ty Lee? Who is chasing us?" Ty Lee then stopped as she saw how a table a few meters in front of her was burned into ashes as Azula landed. "Azula?"

"…So… Sokka…? What is… what is going on here…?" Azula blushed madly, but she then noticed Ty Lee and Sokka holding hands, and so, all possible possibilities were replaced by one that made no sense. "I understand now… you escaped while the civil war erupted, you escaped with her! Now it all makes sense! I will burn you both to ashes!" She used her bending, both dodged the attack in perfect synchrony using their past training, both then ran away, not wanting to start a fight with Azula. "Come back here!" She moved her fingers and lighting surrounded her, she then blasted the direction Sokka and Ty Lee were heading too, but they escaped the explosion by luck.

"Ty Lee! Why are you always pulling me into this kind of problems?" He yelled hard at the girl who just smiled teasingly at Sokka, but there was no time for her games, Sokka pulled her up of the floor and out of the bar. Azula prepared to launch a second lighting attack, but this time Suki attacked her from behind and forced Azula to throw the lighting toward the ceiling, forcing it to fall down on top of her. "That will surely leave a mark." Said Sokka, Ty Lee nodded; Suki just pushed them both out of the bar.

Yún and professor Zei were already out of the bar, and the air bending girl began whistling, much to Momo's dislike since the animal began covering his long ears in annoyance. "Come on, come on! Appa, hurry!" She whistled once again and then the front door of the bar exploded, Azula had caught up, and she was annoyed as hell. "Lady, you need some yoga." Azula send many fire balls to the group, they all dodged, but it was Sokka the one doing more than dodging, he took his sword out and began slashing the fire and walking closer to Azula. "Appa is here!" Yelled Yún hard as the bison landed.

They all climbed it but Sokka, who was now fighting Azula in hand to hand combat, using his sword only to block her bending and his ability to read Azula's movements to hit her hands and legs away moments before she could strike, Azula hated this, she hated it when she was outmatched, but in reality, Sokka was the one barely able to fight back, since Azula's movements were so fast and perfect that Sokka never had the time to aim at any Chi Point. Suki watched the battle taking place with a lot of interest, a soft smile appearing on her lips, Sokka's fighting was now different, he used the air to speed up his movements, although he obviously hadn't noticed it, he was already mastering Aikido, but that wouldn't last for long, Ty Lee fired 3 arrows perfectly aimed toward Azula, and despite her bow being barely useful since it was broken, she managed to hit were she wanted, paralyzing Azula's movements since her clothes were now trapped between the 3 arrows and the building, giving Sokka enough time to escape.

"I will find you! And when I do, you will wish you were never born!" She yelled hard as she saw the group flying away, Sokka's and Ty Lee's faces lowered, they disliked seeing Azula like this, but they betrayed the Fire Nation not long ago, despite of Sokka's vow of loyalty toward Azula. "I hate you!" She yelled, it was the last Sokka could hear from her, since Azula's voice was no longer audible.

Inside of the bar, the only costumers still enjoying their mango were Iroh and June, despite everything that took place, they never made a move, instead, they continued with their talk. "Your granddaughter is as impatient as ever, although I must admit, the discovery she made is quite a surprise, I tracked the Earth Princess down, but I always thought she and her bodyguard would never take different routes, I made such a beginner's mistake." Iroh moved his head in negation and ended his mango. "What should I do now? I already send the Rouge Rhinos to the Southern Air Temple, but you paid me for the Water Tribe Slave as well."

"Indeed, I paid you to capture him as well, then noting stops you from doing it so." June smiled, interested in what Iroh was talking about. "The capture of the Earth Princess must be done by Fire Nation soldiers since she is still away from the Earth Kingdom… however, now that the Water Tribe prince is here at the Earth Kingdom, we of the Fire Nation can't try to capture him, otherwise, the Earth King advisor, Long Feng, will accuse us of terrorism, however, an Earth Kingdom mercenary as yourself can now act freely… capture him, and bring him to me alive… don't hurt his companions thought, specially Ty Lee, that would hurt Azula's feelings."

"I understand, but I expect you to double my payment, this mission has taken longer than what was expected, and that warrior is skilled, even I would have a hard time capturing him, I hope you understand that means you aren't paying me enough." Iroh nodded and took a bag of coins from out of his tunic. "We have a deal, as long as they stay in Earth Kingdom territories, I will chase them and capture the Water Tribe Prince." June then left the bar, and once she did, she smiled evilly toward a blue cloaked figure at one of the corners of the now empty bar. "You better not get in my way; I have been watching you all this time, you won't stop me into delivering the prince to my client, and if you step in my way, I hope you understand those bandages around your body will be permanent." June then walked away, but before she could leave, the blue cloaked figure allowed some blue dust he was carrying on top of one of his bandaged hands to hit June's boots, June never noticed it and left.

"Wherever you go, I will go as well, mercenary girl." Spoke the figure to himself, he then left as well and walked toward the stables, once there, he approached a cage, were a Tiger-Wolf was sleeping, he woke him up and asked it to smell the powder that was left on his hand. "This powder is made of raw meat, since it is refined, we humans can't smell it, but you, my friend, you can track this smell from many kilometers away, that girl will track Sokka down, and we will follow her, once she captures our prince, we will save him and force him back to his tribe, where his people is preparing for war.

* * *

"So, let me see if I understand correctly, he is the Southern Water Tribe Prince, who followed his mother once she gave up her Royalty Status and was going to be sold as a slave at the Earth Kingdom." Ty Lee nodded, since Sokka wasn't in the mood to tell Suki about his story, he just allowed Ty Lee to do the talking, Suki rubbed her chin with interest. "Then he was send as a slave to the Fire Nation, where he pretended being the son of a noble and he vowed loyalty to Azula, the freaking girl who attacked us, but eventually, was discovered and escaped with you and the Princess from the Earth Kingdom once the civil was exploded?" Ty Lee nodded. "So what are you guys? Heroes or traitors? I mean, this whole thing is hard to buy, but it makes sense somehow, so what are your plans for the future?"

"We don't know, all we know is Sokka needs to complete his training, Chi Blocking, Aikido, Chuan and Hung Gar, unless he learns all those arts then we can do nothing." Suki gave it some thoughts, Ty Lee just continued. "His loyalty though, will surely give us a hard time, I mean, he vowed to Zuko and Azula, but he also vowed to Toph, my loyalty is toward my Earth Princess, so I will do anything she orders me, but today we were lucky Azula didn't give Sokka an order, otherwise, I'm sure he would have followed it."

"That's enough, Ty Lee, I vowed loyalty to Azula, but I'm not planning on being her knight just yet… until I master the four arts I need to master, my loyalty is toward Toph." Ty Lee nodded; Sokka continued his exploration of the desert. "Professor Zei, there is nothing in the south, how is the west doing?" The old professor moved his head in negation, Sokka's face lowered, he then whistled a couple of times, and after a couple of minutes, Hawky returned and landed on Sokka's arm. "Any discovery by the east?" The hawk moved his head in negation. "The sun is already hiding, if we don't find that library fast, then we will never do." Momo then began doing odd movements; Yún then opened her forever shut eyes.

"I feel it too!" Yún then pulled Appa toward a different direction, the group felt the sudden change and lost their equilibrium, Yún then smiled when finding the ancient library, or at least the top, since it was buried underground. "Here it is! The insides may not exist in our world, but I'm sure I can open the door to the spiritual world! Isn't that great?" Yún then clutched when noticing how Zei hugged Momo hard because of the fear, and how both Suki and Ty Lee continued yelling while hugging Sokka hard. "And so, Sokka the seduction master strikes again." Both Suki and Ty Lee pushed each other's away from Sokka when hearing that last. "Anyway, the moon will soon come out, you guys have until it hides again to make it out of there, or else the door will be shut, and I won't be able to take you all out of the spirit world until the next solstice."

"Then we better hurry." Sokka walked toward the tower coming out of the sand, he thought about climbing to the window on top, while professor Zei tried to dig the library out, which was a stupid idea. "I think it is better to climb our way inside."

"Some time ago, that would have been a good idea, but I can feel the energies of the spirits, the library is here, but the insides are at the spiritual world, if you enter it from the window, you will end up falling with no end." Sokka gulped, Yún touched the tower. "Next time don't forget the granddaughter of the Avatar can communicate with the spirits, let's do this, Momo." Both Momo's and Yún's eyes began glowing, and a portal was opened at the wall, a portal toward the spiritual world. "Use this door, but remember, do not stay longer than needed, when the moon disappears from the sky, the door will be closed, try to make it out before that happens." Sokka nodded and walked inside, followed by Ty Lee and Suki, professor Zei ran after them. "Good luck."

* * *

Once crossing the portal, the group was amazed with what they were seeing, a huge library was found there, it was crowded with many unbelievable creatures, all looking like animals, foxes ran from a side to the other one with books on their mouths, and baboons walked around the place dressed as air nomads, the many creatures noticed the visitors, and when they did, they all disappeared in the blink of an eye. "Please tell me that wasn't my eye doing a joke to me." Sokka never answered Ty Lee back; he just walked around the library amazed. "So, what exactly are we looking for?"

"That's easy; we need to find the book this document came from… if it ever exists that is…" Sokka then took his sword out, Ty Lee and Suki placed themselves in battle poses, Zei just ran from a side of the library to the other one admiring the architecture of the building. "Who is there?" Yelled Sokka to the creature walking their way, it looked like a black owl with white face, but it was many times bigger, bigger even than the whole group. "Are you the spirit who brought this library to the physical world?"

"Indeed, I am Wan Shi Tong, he who knows 10,000 things. And you are obvious humans, which by the way, are no longer permitted in my study." Sokka stared at professor Zei, who moved his shoulders up and down, but then went back to admiring the Great Spirit that was now in front of them all. "Humans only bother learning things to get the edge on other humans, like that firebeder who came to this place a few years ago, looking to destroy his enemy. So…" The spirit moved fast toward Sokka, staring at his eyes with hatred. "Who are you trying to destroy?" Sokka began sweating hard; he backed off and tried to calm down, placing his sword down and staring back at the spirit."

"We are travelers in search of knowledge, we heard of this place and we ask for your permission to use this library, believe in my words, our intentions are only toward a greater good." The spirit gave his back to Sokka, just then the warrior cleaned the sweat from his face.

"If you're going to lie to an all-knowing spirit being, you should at least put some effort into it… be gone… my library isn't open to humans." Sokka then placed his hand inside of his tunic, the spirit quickly turned around and transformed into a wyvern like creature, Sokka was surprised, but never interrupted his movements, instead, he took a burned piece of paper from out of his tunic. "We found this." The spirit returned to normal. "Long time ago I would have lied to you, telling you we came here seeking for knowledge for the sake of knowledge itself, but I have had some experiences with the spirits before, not to mention my life forced me to maturity, so yes, we are here for a different reason than just to feed our knowledge… we are looking for answers, but these answers we are looking for, are for a greater good, all I want to know is what happened this day."

"Sincerity? That's something hard to find in humans now days, still, it isn't enough for me to believe in humans again, your race is approaching to extinction at an accelerated rhythm, and you will only speed it up even more, do you really believe I will lend my library to those with evil intentions?" Sokka said nothing; he just handled the document to the spirit, who refused to take it. "Just this once, I will allow humans to stay, but you must contribute with something in exchange, adding valuable information to my library, information about humans on their last days of existence."

"Oh, I would love to contribute to such an amazing library, Great Spirit, please accept this." Professor Zei offered a book to the spirit who stared at it with interest. "It's one of my literature works; one I believe you will find to be a pleasant reading."

"First edition, a fair deal, you may now use my library." The group was about to split, but the spirit stepped forward. "All of you must contribute." The group then searched for handy information they may have inside of their bags, Wan Shi Tong waited, Suki was the first one to find something useful, some scrolls she offered the spirit. "And what may this be?"

"It's not much, it is information about the Kyoshi Warriors, these scrolls speak about our teachings, about our way of life, and our techniques, if it helps, I would like you to keep them." Wan Shi Tong nodded and took the scrolls, he then allowed Suki to go.

"Um… I don't have much to offer…" Spoke Ty Lee out, the spirit stared at her. "My eye is well trained, and I can see many things others can't, but when it comes to reading, it is actually something hard to do for me… I do have some scrolls, just like Suki, but they are paintings about the Yu Yan archer's techniques, nothing is written on them, only drawings." The spirit admired the design on the scroll, he then accepted the offer. "Are there similar scrolls about the Baguazhang, I wish to learn it all about these arts."

"Follow this corridor, you will find what you seek there, but do be careful, those documents are old, they were written by the first Baguazhang master." Ty Lee made a reverence and followed the corridor, the spirit then stared at Sokka. "Now it is only you and me, being honest, I still don't want you to enter my library, I sense danger in you, many spirits are watching your every move, and they were all alerted when you arrived." Sokka said nothing, he just thought about what was said. "…The blood of Avatar Kuruk is strong in you… he who betrayed the spirits, he who betrayed my trust in humans, what makes you so different to him? How can you prove your value to me?"

"…I'm not sure…" Wan Shi Tong waited. "Perhaps… this will help you understand who I am… it's a book I have been working on, a book about me, about my life as a warrior, and about the war outside." Wan Shi Tong's eyes shined with interest, Sokka just opened the book revealing half of it was still in blank. "It's not complete yet, I write on it daily as I have new experiences, but all my thoughts, everything is written there, if you read this, you will read me as an open book."

"…A surprising contribution…" The spirit used his powers to make the book float to his face, he then began reading it. "Your calligraphy is horrible, but your words are wise and full with feelings… I will keep this book then… and I will re-write it so the calligraphy is decent enough… this is a lecture I will find to be quite enjoyable, you are free to investigate at my library now, but my judgment on you will remain unchanged, since I distrust you more than anyone else." Sokka nodded as the spirit stared at him directly. "…Now, go… I have a book to read…" He nodded once again and walked around the corridors of the library, forever looking for information about the Fire Nation, and about the day at the document on his hands.

* * *

Pasang walked by the green house that was inside of the Southern Air Temple, and once arriving there he was hit by many mixed emotions, he was amazed by the phenomena taking place around the temple, the many plants there were moving, doing wave like movements as a green aura surrounded them. "Toph? Is this perhaps your doing?" Pasang walked inside and in search of the blind girl, she found her where he left her, the blind girl had her hands resting on top of the flowerpot, and her blind eyes were sparkling with a green light, Pasang couldn't help but notice that light was similar to the one Avatar Aang glowed with when entering the Avatar state, but it was still different, since her eyes were only sparkling with the energy now glowing in them. "Toph?"

"Feel the energy, it is not a foreign force, it is your own, you can bend it, and use it." Pasang was in shock, in front of Toph he saw Kyoshi, she was teaching Toph about the essence bending, and the blind girl, despite not knowing it, was learning it, Pasang could tell she was immersed in some kind of state, one that connected her with the spirit of Kyoshi, until the spirit came to her. "This power is one you can bend, because it is your own power, every bender has it, but no one so far can use it, only I could, and soon you will too, concentrate the energy of the earth in your body, let it fill you, and then redirect it to four hands, now, give that energy to the seed, allow it to feed of your own energy, until it grows."

"…I… I… I can feel it…" Toph then took her hands away from the flowerpot, the seed was already growing, slowly, but it was. "It is hard… to share my energy with the plant… it is so small… and yet… so powerful… it is like bending life itself…" Kyoshi placed her hands on top of Toph's one, helping her, and together, forcing the seed to grow, until it bloomed into a beautiful red rose, Toph couldn't see it of course, but could feel the life energy on it, and understood it's growing was over. "This is… the fourth teaching… I finally understand it…" She then fainted, and Kyoshi disappeared, once that was done, Pasang ran toward Toph and held her on his arms.

"Toph, wake up, you did it, you actually bended the life inside of the seed, it is a beautiful rose." Toph woke up and returned to the lotus position slowly, she then placed both hands at her head as trying to drive the pain away. "Do you have any idea of what you have been doing?" Toph moved her head in negation. "Well, even if you have no idea, you have already given the first step toward mastering the fourth teaching, now, go to sleep." The girl nodded, she then moved dizzily around the room and back to her own, once Toph was gone, Pasang's face became serious as he stared at the person entering the room. "You are 112 years old, and you still think as a kid, what you did was dangerous, calling the spirit of Kyoshi only to teach Toph a lesson isn't the proper way toward her illumination."

"I knew it; the closer a monk is to be 200 years old, the grumpier they are." Pasang moved his head in negation, Avatar Aang just sat down in front of him. "Please don't give me that face master, it was her only chance to meet Kyoshi, after all, after the full moon hides tonight, the spirits will be gone from this world, only a few will remain."

"I understand that, but Aang, the spirits are forever watching this girl, do not get involved, Kuruk angered the spirits once, and so, their trust in humans was damaged deeply." Aang laughed, Pasang moved his head in negation.

"Yeah, I know, I know, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me." Pasang nodded, Aang just smiled. "The spirits are only waiting for Wan Shi Tong to give the final judgment, once that is done, the spirits will choose between the purification they asked me to deliver, or to allow humans to continue their way of life, either way, our world is slowly heading to an end." Pasang nodded. "I need to go now; the spirits are almost ready to communicate the decision to me, Pasang, if the path is purification… I will trust you to try and stop me." Once again he nodded, Aang then disappeared with the wind.

* * *

Back at the library, Ty Lee was reading many interesting scrolls about Baguazhang, it was something hard to do since her only eye would eventually close itself, lulling her into sleep, but she needed to learn this, the scrolls she found were very useful to her training, she could almost teach herself now, but her research was interrupted when Sokka pulled her by the hand. "Wait, wait! I need these scrolls!" She quickly grabbed them all and followed Sokka. "What happened?"

"There is something I want you to see." Ty Lee nodded and then her eye fixed the view toward a burned section of the library. "Never mind that, remember the document Yu send to me? It was the only thing that survived; apparently, a firebender was here not long ago and burned everything involving the Fire Nation, everything but this paper."

"Well, if there is no information about the Fire Nation, then what is so important you want me to see?" Sokka then pointed at a huge mechanical door that was wide open, a door that lead to a planetarium. "Wow… this place is incredible… but, what's so great about this place?"

"This." Sokka then pointed at a calendar in the middle of the room, it had the date of the document Sokka held in his hands, he then pointed up, it was a perfect representation of the sky, it was dark, which forced Ty Lee's vision to focus even more, then she noticed a couple of objects, one was the sun, and on top of it was the moon. "A solar eclipse, the darkest day of the fire nation was actually the darkest day, apparently the eclipse did something, my theory is, that just as waterbenders find their powers increasing with the moon, maybe firebenders get the power from the sun… which means… if the sun is blocked by the moon… firebenders are powerless."

"Well, that's great and all, but… what is this information good for?" Sokka then began placing a new date at the calendar; Ty Lee noticed how the whole planetarium moved, from day to night, then a comet passing close to earth. "Sozin's comet?" Sokka nodded, but he then continued changing dates, approaching more and more to their current one. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for a date, I want to know if there will be a new solar eclipse this year." And Sokka finally found it. "There it is… the darkest day of the Fire Nation, it will happen again… in about half a year… we have until then to get ready, we will end the civil war." Ty Lee's eye widened. "This civil war started because of Fire Lord Ozai, but if we beat him and ask Zuko to claim the throne, everything will be over, the Fire Nation will be able to recover, Zuko will lead it toward days of peace, and we will be able to help Toph back to her kingdom, we can end this war."

"Sokka… Sozin's comet… can you… place the date of the anniversary…" Sokka nodded, he then got the machine working, days and night passed by, and Ty Lee saw horrified how the comet approached. "It is coming; this year… the comet will arrive… Sokka, that day that was erased from history… 2 months later history was written again… Sokka, if we are unable to stop the civil war and help Zuko back to the throne… then Ozai will use the comet, and not even the Earth Kingdom will be able to stop him…"

"Years ago, the Water Tribe conquered the Fire Nation." Ty Lee and Sokka faced the entrance of the planetary, Wan Shi Tong was there. "But their victory was fruitless, since months later, Sozin's comet came back, and the Fire Nation recovered their capital, avatar Roku then used the power of the comet to free the conquered nations, and the war grew bigger… today, almost 90 years after the incident, a Water Tribe Prince discovers the secret… and is willing to revive that old tale… I should kill you right now, but then again, you were honest enough as to allow me to read about your life, and now that I know what is happening outside… I have no choice but allow you to leave my library."

"Really?" The spirit nodded, Sokka and Ty Lee exchanged looks. "Being honest, I thought we were going to have to fight our way out." The spirit nodded, Sokka flinched. "Well, what made you change your mind?"

"Whether I kill you now or allow you to leave, do not change what will happen outside, with Sozin's comet dangerously close to arriving, then history will repeat itself, once again there will be a great war, one that will pull humanity toward extinction… or…" Sokka raised an eyebrow; Wan Shi Tong stared at Sokka. "Or… with the help of a girl who is constantly defying the spirits… you could perhaps change the future…" Sokka was unable to understand. "Leave now, the moon will soon leave the sky, and Kuruk will close the door." Sokka then noticed sand entering the library, he then took Ty Lee's hand and was about to pull her out, but then the one eyed girl pulled Sokka back, she then tried to give the scrolls to the spirit. "Keep them, these scrolls are a present from me, to you, but you will have to promise me something… promise me, the trust I placed on you both won't be wasted, promise me, you will change the strings of fortune, so the future can be changed." Both exchanged looks but then they nodded. "Very well, now, run… your friend, the Kyoshi warrior, is waiting by the portal, but professor Zei decided to stay."

Sokka wanted to complain, but there was no time to waste, the library was sinking in the sand, which meant reality was being altered, or better said, Wan Shi Tong was pulling them out of the spiritual world and toward their own, it they were not to make it outside, they would still return to their world, but sank under tons of sand from the desert. "What will happen to Zei?" Yelled Ty Lee while she was pulled around the corridors of the sinking library by Sokka.

"If the spirit says he is staying, then he is staying, don't worry, he won't die, the spirit wouldn't allow it!" more sand kept coming from the walls, burying the knowledge Wan Shi Tong allowed them to read, but it didn't took them long to arrive to where the portal was, Suki was also there, she came only to see, not to learn anything, so she stayed close to the portal the whole time, although she was surprised to see the library was sinking. "Leave now! The moon will soon leave the sky!" She nodded and jumped inside of the portal, Sokka and Ty Lee jumped after her, and once they did, they arrived to their world, it was a new day, the moon left the sky just as the group was leaving the portal."

"Where is professor Zei?" Sokka moved his head in negation, but Yún wasn't depressed, all the contrary, she smiled. "So, he finally fulfilled his dream… I wonder if I can fulfill mine as well." She said while staring at the group cleaning their clothes out of the sand. "So, what will happen now?"

"Well, I'm still unsure… with the knowledge I have we could stop the war at the Fire Nation… but I have no army, only a mercenary group of 3 persons, a War-Hawk, and an Eel-Hound… not enough to stop the war… we can't trust the resistance will last either… if we want to stop the war, we need a different army." Sokka then noticed his bag was heavier than it was before, he took out from it two books, one was red and had the emblem of the Fire Nation on it, he opened it and noticed it was his story, but it was edited, he then opened the other book, it was yellow and with the emblem of the air nomads. "What is this…?" It was the story since they arrived to Air Nomads territories, also rewritten, but the last chapter had more information than the one Sokka placed there, Sokka began reading it."

"And so, Wan Shi Tong, the spirit who never trusted humans, placed his trust, after more than one hundred years of not believing in them, in the human he trusted the least, the tale of the Water Tribe Prince continues, but right now he needs to find more answers before finding a path to follow, answers he will only find at the Air Temple of the South, since it is the closest place to the spirits, only when these questions are solved, and the warrior understands the blood running through his veins, will he be able to find the power he needs to change the strings of destiny… those were Wan Shi Tong's last thoughts as he headed back to the spirit world." Sokka then stared at the group, what had just happened was something none of them could understand, but Sokka found it best to believe in the spirit, his travels were once again pointing at the Southern Air Temple, were the answer to his doubts would be found. "I won't interrupt my training just yet Wan Shi Tong… I will surely return to the temples… but not until my training is complete… however, I won't betray your trust…"

* * *

The door toward the spirit world was finally closed, but inside, the spirits were all talking to one another, deciding the next step to follow, they all witnessed what happened at the library, and as Wan Shi Tong approached the center of what seemed to be a reunion of spirits, they all remained in silence. "I heard it was me the one who would give the final judgment, and as all of you my brothers and sisters have witnessed, I interacted with one of the humans we selected as pillars of salvation, and so, my final judgment is, that humans should prove their value once again, if they have the will to live then they will have to survive, if they don't have the will then they will perish, brothers, this war that have started will only grow even bigger, so I believe that instead of erasing humans from history as we had planned, we should allow them to destroy each other's if that is what their wills dictates. So, as humans do, we should chose a side, those spirits who wish to aid the humans, are free to do it." Wan Shi Tong then stared at the Blue Spirit, a demonical like creature that had now earned a place within the greatest spirits. "And those who think different, and want to punish humans, are free to do it as well." Wan Shi Tong then stared at Koh, the infamous face stealer who forced Avatar Kuruk toward madness. "Let's decide together the final judgment, and in order to achieve that goal, I will ask for the current Avatar to try purifying the land as the humans are tested, it will be the final judgment, when the ones we are watching face eminent doom, then we will decide whether they live or die, and whether humans have or not the will to stay alive." The spirits had different reactions toward Wan Shi Tong's judgment, but the decision was already taken, everything would remain the same for now, although this time, the spirits would actually take a side and guide the humans toward salvation or destruction.

**End of the Spirit Saga**


	16. La's Judgment

**Slavery Mark: Book Two – Air.**

**Chapter Six: La's Judgment.**

* * *

"An attack at Misty Palm City you say?" Long Feng, now the supreme advisor of the now sick King, Lao Bei Fong, rubbed his chin with interest at the news as he rested by the throne, the Dai Li agent who gave him the news of the attack waited for his supreme leader to continue. "Tell me, general, can an attack toward a bar at the Misty Palm City represent something like a terrorist attack? Because, if that is not the case, I would like to know, why troubling me with such insignificant matters? I have no time to waste with things such as vandalism and a stupid fight at a bar! So tell me, why is this supposed attack something that needs the Earth King's attention?"

"Lord Long Feng, involved in the fight were many suspicious persons, one of them was a warrior of Kyoshi." Long Feng never erased the annoyed look of his face. "Bystanders also say there was an airbender girl with white hair; so far everything points toward the granddaughter of Avatar Aang." Now Long Feng's face was filled with interest. "Professor Zei was also involved, and no one has heard of him ever since, also, involved were a couple of mercenaries, one was Fire Nation, and the other one a Water Tribe without a license."

"From the Water Tribe? Without a license? Nonsense, the only place where Water Tribe ones are allowed is at Misty Palm City as servants or scholars, but they can only be there if they have a license… otherwise, the only way a Water Tribe one can be at the Earth Kingdom is by serving as a slave at the mines of Ba Sing Se… unless…" Long Feng then stared at the Dai Li agent with hatred. "General!" The Dai Li agent abandoned his kneeling position and stood up. "A year ago there was a rebellion at the mines, one slave managed to escape, a slave you said your agents killed… I want to know… did your soldiers recover his body…?" The Dai Li agent moved his head in negation. "Such a disappointment, I wonder if I should punish you for your mistake."

"My lord, according to the witnesses and the authorities, the Water Tribe mercenary was young and around the age of 15, the slave who escaped the mines was around 38 years old." Long Feng never cared about the excuses much; his mind was still running around the proper punishment for the soldier's incompetence. "Witnesses from the Zei library claim professor Zei called the Water Tribe mercenary a survivor from the Southern Water Tribe." Long Feng's eyes widened, the agent continued. "And at the bar some said they heard Zei calling him prince."

"The Prince of the Southern Water Tribe, general, is this information accurate?" The General nodded. "The lost prince of a lost civilization, it is something fascinating, but troublesome… the Fire Nation is getting ready for war, and once their new navy is ready, we will together sail toward the Northern Water Tribe and end the existence of those savages… however, if that prince arrives to the Northern Water Tribe before the preparations are ready, there is no telling if our plan will be successful, after all, no one knows if those savages of the Northern Water Tribe actually have an army, that civilization never went to war, for 400 years they stayed neutral." Long Feng then turned around and faced the Dai Li agent. "General, I want all agents active and hunting the group down, I want the prince chained and working at the mines as soon as possible."

"As you wish, it will be done, my lord, thinking ahead to your orders, I commanded the militia of Misty Palm City to capture the intruders, Ghashiun, the leader of the sandbenders, send a message to me this morning, the travelers were last seeing heading south, probably to the remaining of the Water Tribe." Long Feng nodded and moved his hand, asking the Dai Li general to leave, the agent made a reverence and left the throne room.

Once Long Feng was sure he was alone, he entered the chambers of the Earth King just behind the throne room, there, King Lao Bei Fong, now looking like an old man, moved his head weakly toward Long Feng. "The prince of the Water Tribe? Alive? It wasn't supposed to happen… the Queen and Prince of the Southern Water Tribe were supposed to be my personal slaves… that way the prophesies wouldn't be fulfilled, that way there would be peace." Long Feng made a reverence toward the old king, who gave him a sad stare. "Why is it that tragedy always follows my family…? Shortly after my daughter turned five years old, my wife was killed by a Water Tribe slave… and after, I lose my daughter at a civil war at the Fire Nation… perhaps I should have cared only for my kingdom instead of peace around the world."

"My King, you should rest, your illness will never be gone if you don't sleep." Lao Bei Fong nodded, Long Feng continued. "Allow me to find peace, my King, as was planned, the Fire Nation sealed their capital, and with our help, they build an army, never as powerful as ours thought. Together, we will destroy the Water Tribe, and end the existence of those savages, once that is done, there will at last be peace between our nations."

"Do whatever you have to do, Long Feng… the day I lost my daughter, I swore I would force this world into peace, even if that peace pushes my kingdom into war… you have my royal permission to continue with your plan." Long Feng smiled, he then returned to the throne room.

* * *

"I'm seriously not against the idea of daily trainings but, isn't this a little too much!" Yelled Ty Lee awfully worried sick about Sokka, who was currently standing on top of the already flying Appa, his body was shaking hard while trying to adapt to the raging winds the flying bison was generating while traveling, even Yún was worried, this was no training, this was madness. "Sokka, are you sure this is extremely necessary?"

"If she can do it, then so can I." Standing in front of Sokka was Suki, she had her feet perfectly pressed against Appa's saddle, she wasn't shaking in the less, she trained against the wind since she was little, this training was nothing to her. "Besides, you may have training scrolls to aid you in your learning of Baguazhang, but I still need an Aikido Master, and who better than she who beat us both?"

"Actually Sokka, you and I never fought, you surrendered before trying, two days ago when you fought Azula, I noticed just how skilled you are and how fast you learn, so right now I want you to teach me how good you are at battling against the wind, while your opponent moves alongside the wind." Yún moved her head in negation, Suki was surely a hard teacher, Ty Lee just pressed her linked hands against her chest trying to calm down and not lose to her emotions as Sokka fought to stay in equilibrium. "Now, defend yourself!" Suki moved fast with the wind as her aid, Sokka, who was against the wind, had to evade the currents of air and block at the same time, his movements were slow compared to Suki's ones, but there was no denying it, he had improved in such a short period of time. "I wonder, am I a great teacher, or are you just a great student." She said while throwing a second hit, one Sokka also managed to block.

"Funny you mention that, Master Piandao said something similar." The battle continued, with Suki moving faster and faster, using the wind as her aid, Sokka's movements were already moving faster as well, even against the wind; he was learning how to move with it and block just in time. "This is harder than it looks." He said while blocking once again, Suki just smiled.

"This is interesting, believe it or not, I'm not holding back." She said while once again finding her hits blocked by Sokka. "You are such an annoying student! But you aren't going to master Aikido in a day, not even I am that good" She said while trying to strike once again. "Blocking will never be enough, if you want to properly learn Aikido, you need to find an opening and then…" Sokka never waited for Suki to finish that last, he moved his feet fast to gain a better angle, he then moved his right arm while cutting the wind, then he pulled while Suki was about to land a hit and pushed Suki against the wind and toward the corner of the saddle, the warrior was surprised, she was knocked down by Sokka, who was now laughing and being all proud of himself. "I fell on purpose to make you feel better!" She yelled hard while blushing.

"I got you! Admit I got you!" Suki then noticed Sokka was perfectly standing even against the wind; she quickly stood up, grabbed Sokka by the fingers, and began bending them painfully. "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"

Haha, ok, it was a lucky shot." She released Sokka who began rubbing his fingers. "Let's see if you can do it again." Sokka nodded, and once again placed himself in position, Ty Lee rolled her eye in annoyance, she hated how Suki and Sokka could get this along. "Start!" The battle continued, and once again Suki was send flying toward the saddle. "Ok, you are lucky… very lucky… but soon your luck will run out, again!" She yelled and stood up, they continued like that for a while.

Ty Lee yawned in annoyance, they had being at it long enough for her to stop worrying about Sokka's welfare, she then turned her attention to the desert, not finding anything better to stare at, her eye then noticed something, there were many objects following them at an incredible speed. "Guys, we have company!" She yelled when her powerful eye saw how some persons traveled on top of what seemed to be a Sand Sailer, an usual medium of transportation around the Earth Kingdom. "Sandbenders!" She yelled while avoiding an arrow. "And they are good at archery!"

"Training is over?" Suki nodded while standing up from the saddle once again and taking her fans out. "We are easy targets while flying; take us close to the ground, Yún!" The girl nodded while asking Appa to fly lower, the old bison growled and flew down. "Ty Lee! How many are them?"

"3 Sand Sailers, each with 3 sandbenders on top, but they are not alone, by the west I see a strange creature approaching, a mercenary girl is on top, and following them close comes a blue dressed one on top of an Ostrich-Horse, and beside him is a Tiger-Wolf, I think he is from the Water Tribe!" Sokka scratched his chin while thinking, but his thinking was interrupted by an arrow that moved dangerously close to his face. "He has a Yuan Bow! I want that bow! I broke mine!"

"Ty Lee! Concentrate!" The girl stared at him with annoyance, she was his sifu after all, speaking to her like that was disrespectful in more than one way. "Get ready to jump!" She nodded, Suki also approached to them and got ready. "Let's do this then, one for each of us, now!" Sokka jumped off of Appa, so did Suki and Ty Lee, they landed each at one of the Sand Sailers, kicking and fighting the sandbenders out of the ship and then jumping to the sand. "Great job girls, but I looked cooler all the time." Both Ty Lee and Suki rolled their eyes and went to attack the sandbenders, it wasn't something easy since the sand benders were very different to fight against than any other bender the have faced, their powers were earthbender's based, but their movements were like Water Tribe ones and their attack very similar to air nomad's ones.

For Suki, however, it wasn't that hard; she used her fans to move the sand bended attacks away from her, and knocked her opponents fast. Ty Lee also managed to push a couple of them down and stole the bow from the archer one, but the third one threw some sand to her useful eye and blinded her, but when the sandbender thought he had won, he ended being kicked hard by the temporally blind Ty Lee, who heard him coming. "Nice doing, you are finally listening to your surroundings, I'm impressed."

"Yeah, but my eye still hurts!" She yelled while rubbing her eye. "And now I can't see the other two from the west, get ready for when they…" Ty Lee then turned around and blocked the whip about to hit her, she could hear the wind cutting and could intercept the attack, but she couldn't escape the kick that followed, and ended hitting face first the sand. "…Ouch…" She said while spiting the sand out, Suki came to her aid and ended being hit by the tongue of the strange animal the black dressed mercenary was traveling with; it was a Shirshu, a very poisonous four legged creature with deep brown fur, an also, a creature with an even greater nose, or noses, since it had various whiskers like noses that could track a rat at another continent.

"The name is June, I'm a bounty hunter, and there is a great bounty on the head of your beloved prince." She said while stepping on Ty Lee's back, forcing the girl to yell hard. "Oh, did I hurt you? Sorry, that was never my intention." Ty Lee then kicked June's leg, the woman fell down and ended covered in hand, Ty Lee then took a battle pose, still trying to force her eye to work, she then heard a slashing sound and blocked, only to find out she ended intercepting the Shirshu's tongue. "Now, that's what I call being unlucky."

"So gross!" She released the tongue, but then began feeling odd. "I feel so… dizzy…" She collapsed and hit the sand face first one again. "…I hate this…" She yelled at the sand since she was unable to move by the paralysis-poison. Jun then approached to Sokka, who was now fighting in hand to hand combat with the leader of the sandbenders, who was defending well.

"I must say this is harder than what I thought it was going to be, I'm trained to defeat firebenders and airbenders, but sandbenders move so weirdly." The bender smiled and continued bending tornados of sand toward Sokka, who moved aside and evaded wind itself while using it to move faster.

"I, Ghashiun, leader of the sandbenders, will not allow you to escape, surrender now and I promise to go easy on you." Sokka grinned and was about to attack, but then Ghashiun was hit by the Shirshu's tongue and was paralyzed down, the tongue then hit Sokka as well, but the Water Tribe Prince wasn't paralyzed.

"What happened? Why weren't you paralyzed?" Sokka then placed his hand by his neck, rubbing the necklace that once belonged to his now gone mother; the necklace that was said was going to protect him from any illness. "Never mind, I will do it myself!" June ran toward Sokka with her whip in hand, she attacked, Sokka cut the whip in half with his sword, then he spun around, took a boomerang out of his tunic, and threw it toward June's hand, knocking the other half of the whip away from her hand. "You are good; I will give you that, boomerang boy." Sokka caught the boomerang and smiled.

"I trained with the boomerang since I was a kid; since Aikido helps me read the wind I thought perhaps my boomerang throwing would be better, good to know I was right." He taunted June, the woman smiled in awe, but she made no move since her Shirshu's was about to attack Sokka from behind, but before it did, Hawky flew from out of nowhere, slashed the Shirshu's nose, and then flew up to the sky, the Shirshu ran away hurt. "Ya know, I always have Hawky protecting me from the sky, he is well trained, isn't he?"

"No one hurts Nyla!" She took a dagger out of her boot and ran toward Sokka, the Water Tribe prince took his sword out and ran to her way as well, but before both could engage in battle, a bone made lance flew toward both of them and landed at the place the black sword and the silver dagger collided. "You again?" Yelled June as she evaded the Tiger-Wolf jumping toward her, Sokka was confused, but he was fast enough to block when a stranger jumped down the Ostrich-Horse and attacked Sokka. "Stay away from my bounty!" Yelled June while kicking the face of the Tiger-Wolf and knocking it unconscious, the man attacked Sokka with the bone lance after picking it up, Sokka blocked, June attacked the man, he blocked, and soon the 3 of them were immersed in a triple combat.

At the sand close to them, Ty Lee managed to wake her left hand, she then pressed her own shoulder and began spiting poison out of her mouth, it was a nasty action, but allowed her body to move again. "Suki?" She asked while cleaning the sand from her face and eye. "Where are you? I still can't see very well."

"I'm here." Ty Lee moved her head to her right and then searched for Suki with her hand, once she did, she searched for her shoulder and pressed a point there with perfect aiming despite being almost blinded, Suki began spiting the poison out as well. "That, felt awful." Both girls stood up and prepared for combat, but Yún arrived and asked them to climb Appa. "We better run while we can, the sandbenders are waking up." Said Suki while helping Ty Lee up of Appa. "Sokka! We are leaving!" Upon hearing the name, the blue cloaked warrior smiled through his bandaged face and then stopped attacking Sokka, directing all attacks toward June.

"I knew it was you! I just needed to make sure about it!" Sokka blinked twice, the figure kicked June away from him and then faced Sokka. "I'm no enemy, my prince, this kingdom is not safe, we must flee, now! I will explain later." Sokka took his sword out not believing in the words of the man who not long ago had attacked him. "Sokka, it's me!"

"…Bato…?" The warrior nodded, Sokka's jaw dropped, they both were speechless, but the moment was interrupted when June stood up and attacked them both with a couple of daggers, both blocked and kicked her away, then Bato smiled for Sokka, took a bone made hammer out of his tunic, and gave it to him. "Just like in the old times?" Bato nodded, June recovered from the kicks and dodged just in time for Sokka to miss his hammer attack, but Bato hit her with the lance's bone at her ribs, forcing her to back off, and once that was done, Sokka threw his boomerang toward the back of her head, knocking her unconscious. "…Just like in the old days…" He faced the sand sadly; Bato noticed through the bandages but said nothing. "Let's go, you are coming with us."

"I was hoping you to come with me, not the other way around." The sandbenders began standing up, Yún jumped down of Appa and used her airbending to send them all flying toward the Sand Sailers, Sokka then placed his sharp boomerang up, whistled, and pointed at the sails, Hawky understood and took the boomerang with both of his razors and then flew toward the sails, cutting them, and leaving them useless. "That's a smart Hawk." Bato then whistled, his Tiger-Wolf came running fast and jumped on top of Appa's saddle.

"That's a smart Tiger-Wolf." The group then saw how June began waking up dizzily, they all climbed Appa and flew away, since the sandbenders had no transport mediums, and June's Shirshu was wounded, they knew they had a moment to rest, just then, Sokka stared at Bato and at his whole bandaged body. "Bato, what are you doing here? What happened to you? How did you escape the mines of Ba Sing Se?" Suki stared at Ty Lee, who despite still being cleaning her eye, moved her shoulders up and down having no idea of what was going on.

"Many died for me to escape… but it was something that needed to be done, after all, the Northern Water Tribe deserves to know the great danger they are about to face." Sokka and the girls all stared at Bato. "Sokka, I don't know what your plans are, or why haven't you returned to the South Pole yet, but it is about time you return, our people need a leader, they won't listen to Hakoda, no matter how wise and what a great warrior he is, they will only follow the orders of the last descendant of Kuruk, only then will the prophecy be fulfilled."

"There is no way I'm pushing my people toward a war they can't win, chosen one of prophesies or not, I refuse to be the one bringing equilibrium." Ty Lee and Suki once again exchanged looks; Sokka stared at them both with concern. "I will do what I can to bring equilibrium, but I'm not going to push my people to war."

"Sokka, you don't understand, with or without your aid, war will surely explode, it is already too late to stop it, the only thing that can be done is defend ourselves." Sokka moved his head in negation, Bato continued. "The Fire Nation sealed their capital, and with the aid of the Earth Kingdom they created a new navy, both cultures will soon team up to erase ours, Sokka, there is no time to waste, you must hurry and lead our armies!" Sokka faced away, hatred and pain was filling his face, everyone noticed, but they were all afraid to say or do anything. "I have been looking for you for so long, Sokka, only to train you and make sure you are ready to become a man, one that will lead our tribe toward victory, please allow me to teach you, our people will only follow the one from the prophecy, please understand you were born for this day."

Sokka gave it some thoughts, everything involving Bato was so sudden, his training in Aikido was only half the way to be completed, and he made a promise not only to Toph but, to Zuko and Wan Shi Tong, but giving his back to his people in these times of crisis was something he couldn't do. "…I will accept your training…" Bato smiled, Ty Lee and Suki lowered their faces. "But… you will have to train me at the Southern Air Temple… there are answers I need to find there. and also… I need to finish my Aikido training with Suki… I hope you understand this is something I must do…"

"I do understand, but Sokka, you should also understand what will happen once you accept your destiny as the leader of our tribe… there will be no turning back… the only course of action will be war." He nodded; Bato faced the silver haired girl. "You, Air Nomad girl, I must ask you to land at the nearest dock you can find, before Sokka can take on the responsibility he was born to have, he needs the proper initiation, only man can lead armies." No one understood what Bato was talking about but Sokka, but the air nomad girl nodded in agreement and made it out of the desert and toward the island of Kyoshi.

* * *

Inside of a barn near the Southern Air Temple, Toph played with the Giant-Eel-Hound after not being near the animal for the past days, Eelen was happy and kept licking Toph's face all the time, the many monks cleaning the stable were amazed, Eelen was a hard tempered creature who wouldn't allow the monks to be near her and roared to them in annoyance when they tried to feed the animal, seeing Toph playing with it was something unbelievable. "No! Eelen! That's not a toy! It's a sacred artifact!" She said while pulling the beads she now carried around her neck, Eelen playfully pulled them while moving her tail all around the barn and almost hitting Pasang, who had to evade the tail of the giant creature. "Bad Eelen! Stop pulling! You are going to break it!" And as she said that, the bead necklace broke, and both Eelen and Toph were send toward different directions of the barn, Toph landed on top of some fodder. while Eelen ended falling on top of various Air Nomad Monks who fought the animal off of them. "I'm sorry Master Pasang."

"It's not important at all, Toph; the Fo Zhu is only an instrument for praying, and despite being sacred, the spirits won't be annoyed if it breaks." Toph nodded while trying to escape the fodder prison she was currently at, Eelen approached to her, grabbed her by the collar, and pulled her out. "Here, you can have mine if it helps you feel better." Eelen placed Toph down, and once she did, Pasang placed his Fo Zhu around her neck.

"But Master Pasang! I can't accept this! What if Eelen tries to play with it and it ends being broken as mine was?" Eelen approached the collar and was about to bite it when Pasang hit the Giant-Eel-Hound's forehead with two fingers, hurting the animal, and forcing it to back off. "How did you do that?"

"Toph, today is a day for relaxation, we aren't teacher and student today, just a couple of friends sharing a day off." Toph nodded. "And about the necklace, pay it no mind; every great monk gives his beads collar to the student that has finally found illumination." Toph's blind eyes widened, Pasang smiled for the girl. "My news seems to have surprised you."

"They did! Master Pasang, I feel nowhere near illuminated!" She yelled hard with concern, Pasang just hit her forehead with his two fingers as he hit Eelen's one not long ago. "Ouch! You monks do know how to hurt people! I remember Monk Gyatso hitting me like that all the time!" She rubbed her head hard, Pasang smiled. "Am I really illuminated?"

"Illuminated enough I must add, Toph, you never came looking for illumination, we taught it to you, you never made a chastity vow, or accepted a life of eternal praying, or gave up all your materialism, you only accepted our knowledge, and so far there is no more I can teach you." Toph didn't know what to say, Pasang gave the girl a teasing smile, she felt it on her vibrations. "Unless, you wish to do a chastity vow, that way you will be a full time monk."

"No way!" She blushed hard; Pasang nodded in agreement and rubbed her forehead like Master Yu used to do all the time. "I'm sorry master… but I really don't want to do a chastity vow… I do want to get married someday." She blushed hard and began playing at the floor nervously. "Seven years ago, I made a promise with someone… a promise I still need to wait 4 more years to keep… unless he breaks it…"

"I understand, I would never want you to be a full time monk anyway, my intentions were always toward a greater good." Toph 'faced' Pasang; the head of the monk council faced her back. "When you came here, your emotions were wild and unpredictable, but now you can control them, from now and on your judgment will never be… well… blinded…" She giggled, Pasang also laughed a little. "You can feel every emotion freely, your nature will never change, but now that you have learned self-control, little will be the times you will fall to your emotions, right now you may not understand it, but soon you will." Pasang made a reverence, Toph delivered it back, but shortly after she did, she interrupted it. "Is something the matter?"

"Actually, Master, yes… some people I met some time ago… and they aren't at all my friends…" The Rough Rhinos were heading toward the Southern Air Temple; Toph left the barn, followed behind by Eelen, Pasang walked after them slowly, not wanting to use violence to solve problems. "What are you all doing here?" She yelled defiant while cutting the group's trip toward the temple.

"Be more respectful when you speak to Colonel Mongke, girl, last time we met I went easy on you and your friends, today however, I can barely keep my coolness." Toph took bending position, but Pasang placed a caring hand at her shoulder and moved his head in negation, Toph felt the vibrations and stopped. "There is a bounty on your head, they are paying us good money for you, I really don't know what's so important about a helpless and small little blind girl like you." She closed her hands into a fist, she hated being called small, but she somehow managed to calm down. "Things will get ugly if you don't come with us, for example, your master here could be hurt badly, cooperate, and we will leave the friends at your temple alone."

Eelen stood in the way between the Colonel and Toph; the other members readied their weapons. "I'm afraid Eelen here don't like strangers, ever faced a Giant-Eel-Hound before? Since you are Fire Nation I think you have, they are docile, but only toward their owner, toward strangers, there is no telling what they can do, wanna find out?" Toph's nose was then alerted by the odor of explosive powder; she sneezed hard by the strong smell. "Eelen, back off, I know you smelled it too." The Giant-Eel-Hound refused at first, but obeyed once Toph began rubbing her skin. "Leave now and I won't hurt you."

"I like your sense of humor, girl, I am aware of your skills, but I'm also aware of you being alone, your bodyguards are nowhere to be found, they left for the Earth Kingdom, leaving you here and under the protection of mere monks, do you think you have a chance against us?" She smiled evilly, Mongke disliked that smile. "Also, last time there were 3 of us, we are now 5, Kahchi here is a master of the halberd, and Yeh-Lu likes explosions, huge explosions, they could blow the whole temple into dust. So I will say it just one last time, surrender, or people will get hurt." Toph smiled, she then draw with her foot's fingers a line, Mongke angrily glared at the girl. "Kahchi, get the girl!"

Kahchi climbed his Komodo-Rhino down and spun his halberd trying to scare Toph; the girl rolled her blind eyes and then waved her hand in front of her face while smiling evilly. "I'm blind, remember?" Kahchi quit the halberd spinning and walked toward the girl slowly, Toph yawned and then waited, Kahchi was only half meter away from Toph, and once he was close enough, he wielded his halberd only to be earthbended inside of the white colored floor and ended at Toph's height. "I'm blind, not deaf; I could hear you coming the whole time." She then moved her right foot slowly, bending Kahchi down the cliff of Patola's Mountain range and toward the forest. "Next."

"Cocky little girl, aren't you?" She nodded in agreement while keeping her evil smile" Cocky and arrogant." Added Colonel Mongke and then moved his head for Ogodei to go and get her, the strongest member of the group climbed down his Komodo-Rhino, but as the first foot was stepped on the floor, Toph moved her foot and the floor was bended into quicksand, Ogodei was freaked out and tried to throw his chain toward Toph, she caught it and used her metalbending to destroy the chain, she then began tapping her foot, and the faster she tapped, the faster Ogodei sank into the quicksand, and once he was completely gone, she bended the quicksand down the cliff and toward the forest once again. "You think you are funny? Valchir! Erase that smile from her face!"

The silent archer nodded and readied his bow with three arrows, he aimed them all and fired them at the same time, he was a skilled archer and managed to aim and points the girl wouldn't be harmed, but even his aim wasn't enough since Toph moved her hands fast using the Hung Gar style and broke the arrows, she then slammed her fist at the wall of the mountain range, a pillar of rocks came down from it, hit Valchir directly, and threw him down the cliff and toward the forest. "So, I guess this time you will send Yeh-Lu to try to blast me with his explosive weapons, believe me, that's not going to happen… as soon as he lights the first explosive, I'm bringing him down."

Yeh-Lu never waited for Mongke to give him an order, he moved his hand close to his back full with explosives, Toph moved her hand close to the wall of the mountain after sensing Yeh-Lu's movements, the iron masked warrior then moved slowly, slowly enough for Toph not to find any movement, she did get some vibrations, but weren't enough to know what he was doing, only enough to know he was actually moving, he hit his fingers with the torch of an explosive, and as fast as that happened, the whole body of Yeh-Lu was visible to Toph's blind eyes, and she bended a pillar toward his wallet, sending it flying, and allowing the whole bag to blow up with the explosion of the first explosive, the tremendous blow forced a landside, one Toph bended angrily at Yeh-Lu, and so, the iron masked warrior, as well as the Komodo-Rhinos, fell down the cliff and toward the forest, leaving only Colonel Mongke behind, who jumped his Komodo-Rhino before it fell. "You will pay for that!" Mongke placed himself in bending position, but he never made a move, he just waited.

"You do know you have no chance, do you?" Mongke said nothing, he tried to concentrate and relax so the sweat covering his face would stop falling, Toph just began moving her fingers, Pasang stared at that last and then at the grass growing around Mongke's feet, Pasang smiled proudly, Toph smiled evilly, and so, Mongke lost his patience and moved his foot about to use a bending attack, but the grass was tied around his feet and he couldn't move. "If anyone asks, you were defeated by a twelve years old blind girl who can control the essence of plants and is now, officially, the greatest earthbending master ever born." Mongke was about to blast Toph with his firebending when she moved her hands twice, bending the floor around Mongke and moving it slowly toward the cliff, Mongke fought the grass trying to escape, he then firebended one of his feet, burning himself but releasing it, he was then about to release the other one when Toph bended him down the cliff and toward the forest as she did with everyone else. She turned around and made a reverence, Pasang returned it.

"Impressive… just, impressive… to believe you have already mastered such a difficult type of bending, one only Avatar Kyoshi could use, her spirit must be looking forward your mastery of earthbending." Toph smiled happily and then hugged the Giant-Eel-Hound that came to play with her. "Toph, you now can understand the results of your training here at the Air Temple, your Hung Gar was already impressive, perfect in every way, but it working together with the ways of an Air Bender, helped you complete it, now not only you do perfect moves, but prevent doing more than the ones you actually need, you truly are now, the greatest earthbender ever born." Both made a reverence, and walked back to the temple.

* * *

"At our tribe, every boy who has reached the age of 14, is taken by his father or tutor in what we call their ritual of initiation." Bato explained as he readied a boat the Kyoshi Warriors kindly lend to them. It had been a couple of hours since they arrived to Kyoshi Island, Appa was tired since never before, not even when he was young, did he fly for this long with no rest and carrying so many passengers, he was now being taken care of by the many townspeople who came to great the group of travelers. "Since Sokka is older than 14, the ritual of initiation should be an easy one for him, but, since there is no ice to dodge here, we will take a detour toward the Spike Pillars near the Patola Mountain Range, the ocean there is full with many jagged rocks and it is said many sailors found their lives ending there, it's not going to be something easy, but at your age, it is something… possible…"

"Possible is not that encouraging." Said Suki with a worried look as she saw Sokka placing his stuff inside of the boat and sending Hawky to rest by the top of the main mast. "You are not really planning on doing this, are you? I mean, the Spike Pillars aren't a navigation zone; the current there is just too strong! Very different from ice-dodging, to where I know, the water at the poles is calm."

"Not all the time, but most of the time." Spoke Bato out, allowing Sokka to continue with the preparations. "And also, ice-dodging would never be as good as this for the leader of our tribe, he needs to be fearless, brave, and trustworthy, if this tasks comes out to be too much for him then he is not ready to lead our tribe, as they say in my tribe, better die trying than being a no one in the future."

"Well, at the Fire Nation we say, always live to shine another day." Added Ty Lee with a nervous smile, Sokka rolled his eyes at her and then climbed the boat, Bato did the same but asked his Tiger-Wolf to stay with Yún, and so, both got ready to sail. Ty Lee began playing with her fingers nervously, ever since she met Bato, something had been bothering her, she didn't at all want to be part of this, but upon seeing Sokka reading the sails, she changed her mind. "Wait! I'm going too!" She climbed the boat up, Suki blinked twice at the girl's courage. "Wherever you go, I'm going too! Don't think about leaving me behind!"

"I thought you were scared." She nodded a good number of times but entered the boat anyway. "Well, I'm glad you are joining, since this initiation is usually done by three members seeking maturity." Ty Lee blushed and then turned around in order to give her back to Sokka, she knew she shouldn't be having this kind of feelings, mostly because Toph would surely kill her if she found out. Both then felt the ship rocking and turned to see Suki, she smiled at both of them. "You are coming too?"

"You need a third member, don't you?"Sokka nodded, Suki made herself comfortable at the ship. "I told you, didn't I? That unless your training is complete, I'm going everywhere you go." Ty Lee crossed her arms in annoyance once hearing that last, Suki ignored her disrespectful student and waited.

"Then you now have your team, lead them toward the ocean and toward the Spike Pillars near the shore of the Patola Mountain range, as your mentor, I can't do anything but watch, you will success or fail on your own." Sokka nodded, Bato moved toward the front section of the small boat and sat there, staring at Sokka and waiting to see his leadership skills.

"OK, let's do this, I will take the steer, Suki, you will control the mainsail, Ty Lee, the gin is all yours, now let's go doing some rock dodging!" He spoke out of enthusiasm, Ty Lee and Suki both smiled, although, in reality, both were shaking with fear because of the idea of doing this initiation. "Thanks for everything, Yún! We will meet again at the Southern Air Temple!" The silver haired girl waved her hand to the group disappearing at the distance; she then rubbed Momo, who as usual kept sleeping at her neck.

"I surely hope they will be ok, Momo, with the spirits siding with and against them, there is no telling if the spirits will lead them to success." She said while staring with sadness at the ship at the distance, and noticing how Hawky moved his head in many different direction while on top on the mainmast. "Animals are closer to understanding the nature than humans, Hawky can sense it, La, the sacred spirit of the ocean, is going to use all his power in order to test Sokka, despite being a spirit of his tribe, La will only allow the best warrior to lead the Water Tribe, if he fails, La will never allow Sokka to lead the tribe."

* * *

"I can't understand this behavior; Tui and La have interrupted their eternal dance." Katara, the princess of the now extinct Southern Water Tribe, stared at the Spirit Oasis with concern; this was something that had never happened before, the eternal dance, the equilibrium between the spirits, was finally broken. "Yue, what could this behavior mean?" The white haired girl who was by Katara's side stared at the pound as well, but her eyes were posed on Tui, the spirit of the moon.

"Tui and La, the spirits who a thousand years ago decided to manifest themselves in the physical world in order to benefit mankind, they have danced in circles one around the other one in an eternal dance. I don't know what it means, but it can't be anything good." Yue said with concern, Katara stared at her reflecting the same emotion. "All I can feel is what Tui feels, Tui's heart is crying, and so is mine, someone I held so dear in my heart is going to be in a huge danger."

"Someone you held so dear to your heart?" Zuko mentioned while arriving to the pound, Katara was so concerned about the news that she never reflected any emotion against Zuko. "Hearing those words from you only helps a name ring a bell into my mind." Yue nodded, Katara stared at them both confused. "Is it possible? I mean, I have heard many prophesies since I came here, is this perhaps what your people call La's judgment? The one Sokka is supposed to go through?" Katara's eyes widened, she kept staring at Zuko with mixed emotions. "I know this will place me in a difficult situation but… your brother is alive… he and I fought together at the Civil War of the Fire Nation…" He added calmly and then stared at Yue, who just smiled at him.

"…My brother is…" She began, she wanted to ask Zuko many things about Sokka, but this wasn't the time to think about it, the sky was turning dark, a global disaster was about to hit the world. "It was prophesized by my grandmother, Gran Gran, that Sokka, the child of equilibrium, was going to be tested by La when he was ready to lead our tribe… the prophesy… it is happening… Sokka, I knew he was alive… but the prophecy starting now… isn't it too sudden?"

"The prince of the Water Tribe is about to be judged." Yue spoke out while her eyes shined with the energy of the spirits, Katara realized it immediately, the one speaking was no longer Yue but Tui. "La has decided to side with the spirits, unleashing his judgment as was prophesized, the result of the judgment will determine, whether the prince will be the one who will lead his people." Katara gulped hard and searched for the hand of Zuko, he was surprised to feel the action but took her hand back, Katara was full with pride and hatred toward Zuko, but just for this once, she ignored the hate she felt and searched for comfort, the life of her brother was at peril.

* * *

"Never in my 38 years of life have I seen such a horrible storm!" Bato yelled while trying to make his way from the bow of the boat toward the steer, but the raging current was too much for him and he ended at the wooden made floor once again. "Sokka! This is too dangerous! We must return to shore!" But the raging wind wouldn't allow Sokka to control the ship toward land; instead, it pushed the ship toward the Spike Pillars. "Sokka!"

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" He yelled hard, it was a dangerous situation, the group was being pushed toward the jagged rocks, and the raging ocean was trying to swallow them. "I should have known something was wrong when Hawky flew ahead toward the temple! I surely have disconnected myself from nature!" He yelled while moving the steer so they would avoid one of the boulders coming out of the ocean. "We can't avoid the pillars! Suki! Ty Lee! We will have to take on the initiation! Suki! Hide the Jib Sail and Staysail! Leave only the Fisherman one and Main Sail open!" Suki made a mockery; she had no idea of what Sokka was talking about. "Close the front and upper middle sails! Leave the other two open!" She nodded and ran to do what she was ordered. "Ty Lee! Keep the gin against the wind all the time! But get ready to pull in favor when I tell you!" Ty Lee bit her lips nervously; she had being trying to read the movement of the wind to favor her little knowledge about Aikido and Baguazhang, so far she had being successful, but reading this raging wind was madness. "You can do it! I trust you can!"

"This is the weirdest day ever since the civil war exploded! This morning we left a spiritual library and traveled through the desert, and now we are in the middle of a storm at the ocean!" Ty Lee moved the gin against the wind as she was ordered just in time to help Sokka's steer to avoid another jagged rock. "Sokka!" She yelled scared.

"We will be fine! I promise!" He said as a huge wave began forming. "Suki! Hide the main and fishing sails!" The red headed girl began hiding the sails, but she wasn't fast enough to do it before the wave splashed them, the small ship was ragged around the water, but it came out to the surface, Sokka could swear he saw a strange creature hitting his mind as the water swallowed him, the mental image of a giant water spirit from the ocean, but he shock the image away and tried to concentrate in the problem they were all at. "Is everyone ok?"

"I'm fine!" Yelled Suki, she then stared at Ty Lee who was weakly moving the gin against the wind as she was ordered, Bato was also ok, but still couldn't stand up, he was strong, but his whole body was hurt, such wounds wouldn't allow him to help at all. "We lost the main sail!" She yelled hard while pointing at the broken mast. "Now what?"

"Open the fishing and jib sails! But be careful! If we lose them, we won't survive this!" He said while fighting the steer against the wind. "Ty Lee! Pull in favor of the wind now!" She obeyed, the ship moved oddly in circles, avoiding two jabbed stoned, one about to hit the bow of the ship, close to where Bato was recovering, and one near the gin that luckily wasn't broken by the boulder hitting half the ship. "Nice doing! We are almost out!" But then Sokka saw a second wave forming, and once again the mental image of the water spirit stroke his mind, he let go of the steer and the ship lost control, Ty Lee couldn't held the gin and lost control over it as well, Suki ran toward the sails and pulled them down moments before the wave stroke them all, once again they ended swallowed by the ocean, and despite it being only for a fraction of second, Sokka felt it was an eternity, since inside of his mind, he was now face to face with the spirit.

"You have failed." The spirit spoke out. "You aren't ready to lead your tribe, there is doubt in your heart, you have forgotten your heritage, your blood is polluted." Sokka felt like fainting, but before he did, he touched the band at his arm, he quickly woke up from his state, and took the steer once again.

"I have a promise to keep!" He yelled while recovering. "Everyone! Hold on to something!" The ship was then hit by a boulder and everyone was sent flying toward the back section of the ship. "No time for asking! Everyone get back to your positions! Ty Lee, move the gin in favor of the wind! Suki, open the fishing sail but pull the ropes to close it when I tell you! We are going to beat this storm! We are going to avoid those pillars!" Sokka pointed at the last pillars ahead of them, there was only a small aperture between them, but it was too small for the ship to cross between the rocks. "Stay calm Suki! Ty Lee, you too concentrate! When I say now I want Suki to pull the sail closed and you Ty Lee to keep the gin in a diagonal!" Both nodded, a third wave began forming behind of the pillars, the ship moved toward the pillars in favor of the wind, gaining speed and gaining elevation by the pulling of the forming wave, this one was taller than the others, upon splashing, the ship would be crushed against the pillars, the wave was about to break and swallow them, but Sokka gave the signal. "Now!" Suki pulled the sail, Ty Lee kept the gin controlled, and Sokka fought the steer to stay leading the ship forward, the wave stroke them, but the ship went through it, avoiding the pillars and the power of the raging wave, and finally pushing them out toward a pillar free section and close to the Patola Mountain Range.

"You did it Sokka!" Yelled Bato after spitting out a lot of salty water. "This initiation will surely be in the memory of our people for long! You have proved to me that you are ready! The spirits would be proud of you!" And upon saying that last, the ocean calmed down, no one could actually believe it, for them, it was as if the spirits had tested Sokka. "You are now ready! My prince! I will follow your lead blindly! After this incident, there is no doubt about it, you, Sokka, were born to lead our world toward equilibrium!" Sokka smiled weakly, as the ship slowly headed toward shore.

* * *

"The one who was chosen to seek equilibrium had defied the spirits once again; he has proven himself worth of the title of prince." Katara breathed out in relief, Zuko smiled at her. "However." Tui continued. "He had proven not to be ready to lead his people, more tests will need to come until La favors his ascension to the throne, he must first understand his heritage, the importance of the blood running through his veins, and be prepared to sacrifice it all, only then, will he be ready to lead." Yue's eyes lost the shine, and the girl weakly lost her conscience and hit the grass softly, Katara then let go of Zuko's hands once she noticed the spirits going back to sharing their eternal dance.

"Everything is back to normal, but many questions still remain… Zuko… when and how did you meet my brother…?" For a while Zuko remained in silence, an emotionless look was drawn on his face, he was planning on telling it all to Katara one day, but he wanted to wait until his relationship with her was a little more solid. "Zuko, don't force me to give you an order, because you know I will."

"I met them both… Sokka, and your mother, Kaya." Katara's eyes widened, Zuko closed his eyes trying to think about what to say next. "Sokka was a slave at my nation, not exactly mine, but at the Fire Nation every slave most obey nobles… you can say I was his owner." Katara flinched at what was said, Zuko just lowered his head, if the news about Sokka had this impact in her, the news about her mother were surely going to be a huge shock. "As for your mother… seven years ago, I selfishly asked my uncle to buy a slave for me, but not just any slave, but one I personally picked to be my mother, Kaya was my mother for a long time, it was selfish, I know, but it was Sokka's decision to have her staying with me… I don't know what happened to either of them while the civil war erupted, all I know it was part of our plan to have Sokka escaping with the princess of the Earth Kingdom…"

"You… you had my mother and brother serve you as your slaves…?" Katara was shocked by the news, Zuko breathed heavily, both nervously and because his weak heart was asking him to lay down. "You… you are a monster!" She yelled, tears rolled down her eyes. "And just when I was thinking I was probably wrong! Just when I thought I had found good in you! You dare telling me this?"

"And what did you want me to do? Openly admit I had your family serving me while I was a prince at the Fire Nation? Well, forgive me for saying this, princess, but that would have ended my life the day we met!" Katara forced herself not to cry, but tears kept falling from her eyes. "I told Yue about it, I asked her for advice, and she told me to wait but said I should tell you one day, well, I wasn't planning on telling you yet, but thought perhaps it was the best moment!"

"Shut up! My mother was taken away from me! And you dare telling me she was forced to be your slave? I hate you! I began trusting you! I opened my heart to you! But how can I do so after knowing what you did? Stay away from me! I don't want to see you! I want you out of my life!" She turned around and was about to storm away when Zuko took her hand, only to have Katara slapping him hard at his wounded zone. "Don't touch me! Stay away from me!" Zuko tried to run after her, but his weak heart prevented him from doing it, instead, he collapsed at the sacred shire, and pulled his hair hard in annoyance.

"…She was going to find out sooner or later, Zuko…" Yue walked toward Zuko weakly, ever since the solstice ended and the full moon left the sky, communicating with the spirits was hard and life threatening, she was still weak, but went to Zuko's side and sat there. "…I know you wanted to wait until meeting Sokka again before telling her… but her reaction would have been the same, no matter how much you waited to tell her…" Zuko nodded, but that didn't help him erase the pain, he grew to care a lot about Katara, seeing her this wounded was a burden his weak heart couldn't stand.

* * *

The group finally arrived to shore, for Sokka and Ty Lee it was a nostalgic view, the place they were now at was none other than the beach they met Madam Wu at, Ty Lee even found the rock she was lying at in the past when an infection at her eye was about to kill her. But right now there was no time for nostalgia, they were all now ending the ceremony of Sokka's initiation and allowed Bato to paint their faces with marks of their tribe.

"For Sokka, the mark of the wise, a mark given only to those born to lead." An up-side-down crescent moon with a small circle in the middle was drawn at his forehead, he accepted the mark proudly. "For Suki, the mark of the brave, for reflecting real valor and self-control during the hardest times." She made a reverence while accepting the mark, a back-wards shaped moon. "And for Ty Lee, the mark of the trust, since her hard work and trust is what today was a key factor in our survival." Bato then painted an up-side-down crescent at her forehead; she accepted the mark with a teary eye. "Sokka, with your initiation now over, you can proudly accept maturity, as for Suki and Ty Lee, you both earned the right of being called honorary members of our tribe, wherever you two go, you can be sure the Water tribe will lend you their aid." The 3 made a reverence Water Tribe style, Bato then walked toward the boat. "The way toward the Southern Air Temple will be a long one, if we hurry, we will arrive there by the morning, Suki, please help me with the ship, we must secure everything we can."

Suki nodded and went inside of the boat and helped Bato with the sails, Sokka and Ty Lee were about to go to their aid when Sokka noticed Hawky by the trees and calling for him. "Hawky survived the storm!" He yelled happily and walked toward the hawk, Ty Lee then stared at him leaving, a sad look was drawn on her face, and so, after giving it some thoughts, she followed Sokka. "Bad Hawky! Maybe I should give you the mark of the coward! Leaving us in the middle of a storm… thought you couldn't be blamed, staying could have being dangerous for you." The hawk rubbed himself against Sokka's face, forcing him to laugh. "Yeah, I missed you too."

"Umm… Sokka…?" Ty Lee interrupted the moment; both faced the girl who took a deep breath after being noticed. "I don't think I deserve this mark, I'm no one who can be trusted." She said while erasing the mark on her forehead, Sokka walked toward her and smiled, placing a caring arm at her shoulder. "I always end up breaking my promises."

"What are you talking about, Ty Lee? You are the most trustworthy person I have ever met." She moved her head in negation and then walked inside of the small forest near the beach; Sokka raised an eyebrow at her odd behavior. "Anything wrong? You aren't being your usual cheerful and odd self you know."

"I don't think I can keep doing this… I mean, helping back her highness to the Earth Kingdom was something; helping you get ready for war… it didn't feel right… I'm Fire Nation, I'm your enemy, and not long ago I was helping you finish your initiation." She spoke out in a higher tone of voice, Sokka was surprised, for many years he thought Ty Lee was an air head who lived by the day and had no worries, seeing her like this was unbelievable. "I can't help you, not anymore, I betrayed my nation once, I'm not going to do it twice."

"I think you got a point there, but Ty Lee, all I'm doing is not in order to conquer nations and look for the supremacy of my element as all my ancestors did, I'm doing this for Toph, for Zuko, and Azula, I want to stop the Fire Nation, defeat the Fire Lord, and help Zuko claim the throne." Ty Lee mover her head in negation, she sat by the sand and covered her face with her hand. "Hey, we made a vow, we no longer have a place to belong to, all we care about is Toph, remember."

"Well maybe I don't want to care about her as much as I have been doing for this past two years!" She yelled in annoyance, Sokka's jaw dropped, he couldn't believe Ty Lee had said that. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to say that… I would do anything for her highness… or I thought I would… the truth is, I no longer feel the same way, everything is so different, ever since I met Azula, I have being questioning my loyalty, I swore loyalty to Azula, and I also did the same to her highness… just where should my loyalty relay? I'm not sure anymore…"

"…Nothing forces you to stay with us you know…" Ty Lee's eye widened, she faced Sokka, the Water Tribe Prince lowered his face. "But I wouldn't like it if you left us… and I'm sure Toph wouldn't like it either…" Ty Lee nodded, Sokka faced her. "We went through many hardships before, we fought many mercenaries, freed some slaves around the Patola Mountain Range, continued my training and much more, for two years we cared little about the war and more about how to make some money for dinner." Ty Lee smiled, Sokka continued. "It was supposed to continue like that until Toph reached her 16 birthday, then we would head to the Earth Kingdom and help her claim the throne."

"But I can no longer help you with that… I love her highness… I dreamed with the day of her crowning ceremony and how she would lead her kingdom to glory, but… then my dreams always end the same way, I end feeling empty, and I don't know what that emptiness means, is it my nation? Is it probably Mai and Azula, or perhaps it is the feeling of my loyalty preventing me from having that which I love the most?" Soka flinched; he never expected the talk to end in that subject. "The more I think about it, the more depressed I feel, I think about other possibilities, as if what if I decided to selfishly go against her highness and try to fight for what I want." Sokka gave her a fake smile, Ty Lee noticed it. "But then I end sad again, as I imagine her highness's face full with disappointment… then I think about giving up on everything, returning to the Fire Nation and once again becoming the daughter of a noble, and it all goes even worse, I can't help but think about the war, my nation being consumed by it, and then the news of your tribe going to defend against the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation? I'm trapped in the middle of a cave with 3 different exits, each leading me to something, but none ending the way I want to."

"No offence, Ty Lee, but life isn't exactly a fairy tale." She nodded while burying her face at her knees; Sokka scratched the back of his head thinking about what to say next. "I wanted to believe this could be done without a war, no matter how much I like to think of myself as a warrior, war is something even I don't want… my path is clear, I will help Toph and Zuko toward their respective thrones, you don't have to follow me if you don't want to."

"I want to… but… I no longer know if I'm as loyal as I once thought I was." Sokka stared at her once again; Ty Lee cleaned the betraying tears. "I doubted when I met Azula, and my loyalty was questioned… but also, I lie to myself day after day when thinking I only wish for her highness to be happy… because her happiness means giving up on you… and that is an unbearable pain." Sokka flinched once again, Ty Lee smiled. "I need to give up on you, if I want to find the answers I need, I need to know, who am I following? Her highness, or you, that's why I can't help her anymore, until I learn not to allow my judgment to be blinded, I'm not a person to trust, I also need to face Azula, and understand if what I did was for her highness at all, many questions I need to answer, and I need to answer them myself."

"Then, this is goodbye?" Ty Lee nodded with a tear on her eye; Sokka lowered his face for a second, but then faced his hawk. "You will go with her." Ty Lee blinked twice in confusion; the hawk seemed to reflect confusion as well. "You are blind at nights, Hawky will guide your way, besides, since I'm his owner, you will have to return him some day, I will be waiting for that day." Sokka then took out of his tunic a glove; it was the glove that had the golden emblem of the Fire Nation on it. "Here, you need a hawk training glove." He took Ty Lee's hand and placed the glove on, since it was a glove Sokka used when he was a kid, the glove fit perfectly in Ty Lee's hand. "Hawky, listen up, from now and on, that glove is your returning place; you will never lose that glove, stay close to it… and yeah, take care of Ty Lee as well." The hawk rubbed himself against Sokka's face one last time before jumping to Ty Lee's gloved hand, the girl stared at Hawky, then at Sokka, she then could no longer help but allow her eye to cry.

"Don't cry, be strong… this is something you need to do…" Sokka smiled for her, and shortly after he did, she felt his lips being attacked, Ty Lee had launched herself toward him and stole a kiss from him, Sokka was confused, he wanted to push her away, but after everything that had happened he just couldn't do it, after a few seconds, Ty Lee finally broke the kiss but continued sobbing. "This is the last time I feel something for you other than friendship." Sokka nodded slowly while still being shocked, Ty Lee stood up and cleaned her tears away. "However, you will always be the best friend ever." She gave Sokka an honest smile, Sokka delivered it back. "Let's go, Hawky, the sun will hide soon, and I don't want to get lost just as I'm starting my new trip." She turned around and was about to disappear at the forest when she stopped. "Tell her highness… that I will one day come back and apologize to her…" She then ran toward the forest, leaving a confused Sokka behind.

This was the beginning of her trip in search of her own identity, Sokka knew it, and so did a figure standing tall on top of a branch of a tall tree, she smiled while moving her silver hair away from her face. "Perhaps you are one not being watched by the spirits, but yours was surely an important role, I wish I could read your fortune and try to find out what will happen to you, but yours, is now a different mission, one you have to find out on your own." Yún then spun her staff and bended her way toward the Southern air temple, everything was once again growing more complicated, and she knew certain earthbender would need a comforting shoulder.


	17. Ty Lee Alone

**Slavery Mark: Book Two – Air.**

**Chapter Seven: Ty Lee Alone.**

* * *

"No! Stop it! Stop it! It tickles, it tickles! No! Ty Lee! No!" Ty Lee blinked twice with her only useful eye, she could hear the soft laughter of a little girl, and hear the splashing sound of the water, her eye then fixed the view, and so she saw herself, with half her face covered in bandages, her left arm, chest, and stomach were also surrounded by them, a towel covered her waist since other than her bandages she was wearing nothing but the towel since she was inside of some kind of thermal waters, tickling endlessly a girl grappled around a green towel, it was Toph, the Toph Bei Fong from 2 years ago, it was then when she realized she was probably dreaming, since this was something she lived once, years ago, when she and Toph forged their bound. "It hurts to laugh! Please stop!"

"Aw, but her highness's laughter is like the voice of an angel! I want to keep hearing it endlessly! Your highness, your laughter has the power to cure all wounds." Ty Lee, the one of the dream, the one who was 2 years younger, smiled softly as she continued tickling the young 10 years old girl, Toph suddenly grew tired of it and splashed some hot water at her useful eye, forcing Ty Lee to break the tickling and to rub her eye. "Her highness! That's not the proper behavior of a princess! That was so cruel!"

"Well, you deserve it! I told you to stop!" Ty Lee kept rubbing her eye being careful enough not to touch the one that was mended since it would be painful and would surely end up opening the wound, being inside of some famous hot springs at the Patola Mountain Range wasn't that helpful for her eye either since the heat could open her wound, but she did this to spend some alone time with Toph and get to know her. Toph just buried herself until her lips hit the water and began blowing air bubbles from time to time. "…Besides…" She said between bubbles. "I don't like it when people lie to me… my laugh can't heal wounds… otherwise, you still would have both eyes…" Ty Lee's smile faded, but not for long since a new one came as she went inside of the water and began cleaning Toph's long hair. "Why are you being this motherly toward me?"

"Because you are so cute!" Ty Lee spoke out happily; Toph disliked being called cute, especially since her earthbending training forced her to be arrogant and selfish, and being called cute reflected weakness. "You have beautiful hair, but it is all dirty, cleaning it will take some time so please relax your highness."

"I don't like to stay so long inside of the water, it makes my skin feel so old-man like, and can you please stop doing braids with my hair? I'm blind! I have no reason to care about the way I look." Ty Lee finished doing one braid and placed some red string around it, she then began doing a new one, but Toph pulled her own hair hard and away from Ty Lee's hands. "Stop that! You are not my mother!"

"Your highness… please don't do that, you are lonely and need someone to care for you, I don't want to be your mother's substitute, but at least, allow me to show you I really care about you, ok?" Toph blushed with embarrassment, she then let go of her own hair and allowed Ty Lee to continue doing braids. "Besides, you are a beautiful girl; it would be selfish not to allow others to see your beauty."

"If I can't look at myself, I don't think it is important to care about the way I look, being called beauty isn't a compliment, it's just a way to make me feel even worse for not being able to know what that means." Ty Lee's smile was once again erased, she was doing her best to have Toph feeling comfortable around her, and so far she was doing the whole contrary. "I don't care about the way I look; give me one good reason to care about it."

"Well, because that will make me happy." She hugged Toph once she finished braiding her hair; Toph blushed, being awfully embarrassed by the situation. Ty Lee's care toward her was very similar to the love her mother showed toward her when she was still alive. "Her highness must be feminine, because feminine looking girls put a smile on the faces of people, don't hide your cuteness, be proud of it, and soon you will smile knowing your beauty made someone special smile, Sokka, for example." Toph blushed once again, this time for different reasons.

"Don't say such embarrassing things! You really are acting like my mother!" Toph's face reflected sadness, Ty Lee felt depressed when noticing that last but kept hugging her anyway. "Well… maybe you do care about me a little more than my real mother… she was always overprotective toward me, I know it was because she loved me but… I felt imprisoned, I was always by her side, I couldn't do anything I wanted, don't get me wrong, I loved my mother, but she… well… never understood when to give me my space… when she passed away… dad gave me more liberty, but… it was then when I realized how much I missed her… I miss her laughter… the way she always hugged me… the way she always was there for me at nights and would stay beside my bed, telling me a story about Avatar Kuoshi… and when morning arrived, I used to hear her soft breathing by my bed… I miss her…"

"I wish I could tell you I know how that feels… but in reality, I don't think I miss my family that much… my parents were always busy doing politics… and I was left with my six elder sisters who looked exactly like me and were always by my side… I was just a part of a matched set… my sisters were always with me when what I wanted was to spend more time with my parents instead… maybe I'm motherly because… I don't feel like allowing anyone to suffer the way I did… it was very depressive… " Toph nodded, Ty Lee let go off her. "It's not my intention to try to replace your mother… I guess, I like caring about other people… and well… I thought perhaps you needed someone to care about you… I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable." Toph gulped, Ty Lee noticed but did nothing but stare at the princess.

"…Actually… I guess I do need it somehow…" She sobbed, Ty Lee lowered her face, but she then felt a pain at her ribs as Toph had turned around and had begun hugging her strongly. "I miss my mother so much… I really need her… I really need someone who can care about me like her…" Ty Lee bit her lips trying to ignore the pain, and after a while, she managed to do it and then hugged Toph back. "I'm such a weak girl, aren't I?"

"Aw, don't cry your highness, I'm here, I will always be here, I will always take care of you." Toph continued sobbing, and Ty Lee kept hugging her with love and care, it was then when their bond was forged. "I will always take care of you." Just then Ty Lee woke up, her face reflected laziness and disappointment after that last dream, she looked around as to try to understand what was going on, she was on top of a tree's branch in the middle of the forest close to the Patola Mountain range, it was raining, and her hair was all wet, she searched for Toph all over the place and found out her only company was Hawky. "Oh… right… I left the team and broke my promise…" She spoke out of disappointment, Hawky, who just now rested by her shoulder, rubbed himself against her trying to draw a smile on her face. "Thank you Hawky, but that's not going to help much right now."

Ty Lee moved her extremities, pushing them toward their limits, and once she was done with that, she jumped down the tree gracefully and took her new longbow she stole from the sandbenders and an arrow in hand. "This is officially my first day going solo ever… let's start finding something to eat." The hawk flew toward her bag and began scratching it. "There is nothing there but my training scrolls and some arrows, as mercenaries, we always lived by the day, sadly enough, Sokka always did the tracking and I the killing, so don't expect the usual buffet." Ty Lee was the mother of the group, always doing the cooking and making sure everyone had clean clothes, specially Toph since she dirtied her clothes daily because of her training, while thinking about it, Ty Lee couldn't help but wonder how was Toph doing without her, she was especially worried about her health, she knew Toph better than anyone, "This weather is surely going to earn her a flu."

* * *

"Wachoo!" Toph sneezed hard being the victim of her new flu, she was just too stubborn as to ignore the chance of training her earthbending at different situations, training down the rain was something she couldn't do daily, and the fact of trying to ignore the water filling her precious bended earth was enough to call her day a day of intense training, unfortunately, bending mud always had a side effect on her, especially when considering she walks around barefoot and down the rain. "Gah! Why am I always the one ending sick? I don't remember Sokka or Ty Lee ever getting sick because of the weather… wachoo!" She sneezed cutely. "Just great, now I can't breathe."

"Perhaps it would be best to take the mud in a pot and bend it where it is dry, haven't you thought of that possibility." Toph moved her head in negation and continued bending the mud at the outsides of the temple; Pasang just walked toward her and placed his umbrella on top of her. "Stubborn, aren't we? Toph, your body should be taken care of with more care, I know training under the rain is a different experience to your usual earthbending, but think more about your body."

"With all respect, Master Pasang, but you sound just like Ty Lee does, sure, I get sick, but this is the only way I can train my eartbending in different situations." She said while using her Hung Gar like earthbending to force waves of mud around the place and bending them into strong pillars. "Besides, I usually feel all better and healed the next morning."

"I wonder, wouldn't that be Ty Lee's doing?" Toph lost control of her bending after a strong sneeze and ended having the second wave she was bending into a pillar to fall in the middle way of its bending, and so, Toph was splashed with the mud, covering herself and Pasang with it. "If this is how your under the rain training is all the time, I pity Ty Lee for the cares she ends up giving you so you are all healthy the day after."

"Now that you mention it… I always found it odd how Ty Lee was the one ending sick the day after and not me…" She thought about it while sneezing hard once again. "Oh, I hate the flu so much! But on rainy days Ty Lee used to always have a hot bath ready for when my training was over, and shortly after, she made some delicious Ostrich-Horse soup, and once refreshed and with my stomach full, it was sleeping time, inside a nice and soft bed." She said happily, Pasang smiled at that last. "What's the smile for?" She said after tapping her foot at the floor a couple of times reminding Pasang of her vibration sensing.

"I just find it to be curious how despite your rough and fearless self, you have a soft side which Ty Lee seems to exploit all the time." Toph blushed madly when being called soft, she was an earthbender, there was no place for such behavior. "I believe the next morning you would have your clothes dry and clean, and a nice and hot breakfast? Ever thought about Ty Lee perhaps spending the whole night cleaning your dirty clothes and drying them close to a fire so tomorrow morning you would start your day normally." Toph played with her fingers nervously after being exposed to the reality, Pasang just smiled. "After such a caring day, it is quite normal Ty Lee would end up at bed the whole day after."

"If you put it that way… I do feel a little guilty, but it is also her fault, she is always being so motherly toward me, as if I had the need of a mother…" Pasang slammed two fingers at her head, forcing Toph to rub her head hard. "One day I will figure out how you do that! It hurts!" Pasang laughed, Toph couldn't help but do the same. "Fine, I admit it, I sort of like Ty Lee's motherly side."

"Well, how about ignoring your pride for once and letting her know? Although, I don't think she will be so happy to see you like that." Pasang then stared at Toph; her orange tunic was all covered in mud as well as her face and her messy hair. "Still, I believe it to be very like you to be a complete mess, let's go, Appa is about to land."

"Really?" Pasang nodded, Toph then ran her way toward the middle of the temple, where the landing path was, she then smiled once noticing the first vibrations coming down dizzily from Appa were the ones from Sokka, she quickly ran to him. "Sokka!" She yelled in the middle of a jump while tackling Sokka down, who after Yún's usual landing, wasn't one hundred percent ready to see that coming. "You are back! Say something funny!"

"…Funny how…?" She giggled happily, as did many monks around the place, once hearing their laughter, she quickly stood up and turned around with her face flushing. "What's your deal?" He spoke out with a smirk on his face after such display of affection from Toph; it was something she hadn't done since she was ten years old.

"I… don't know…" She began while scratching her head. "I think I missed you or something… although I really didn't care…" She blushed madly, Sokka laughed out loud and then approached to her, he then gave her a small peek on her check, she was so embarrassed that she didn't feel him coming, and when she felt him kissing her, she backed off in fear.

"Thanks, that warms my heart… but you taste a little muddy…" She wanted to earthbend him several feet underground for that last, but she then felt some vibrations she had never felt before coming down of Appa. "Toph, this is Bato, I'm sure you don't remember him, he was the uncle we were talking about when we first met." Toph was confused, she remembered the vibrations somehow, but never expected this to happen.

"Bato of the Water Tribe, a pleasure to finally meet you, Princess Toph Bei Fong." She was surprised about Bato's knowledge of her status, but accepted the hand shake once it was offered. "Hard to believe she is blind with such good aiming, Sokka, your intentions are well focused, but, won't your current mission get in your way with your old one, I mean, helping the princess back to the throne will be hard with the war about to take place." Toph raised an eyebrow and then kicked Sokka softly so he would explain.

"It's a long story, first let me finish the introductions, ok?" Toph then felt how Sokka helped someone down of Appa; she then felt some vibrations that angered her. "Toph, this is Suki, my new Aikido Master." Toph tapped her foot various times in annoyance while trying to control her temper, but once she did, she accepted the hand shake.

"It is a pleasure to meet you! I mean, this is such an honor!" Suki quickly noticed what she was doing and kneeled, Toph frowned at that last. "My princess, I'm in front of the long lost princess of the Earth Kingdom! The one everyone thought dead after the incidents at the Ba Sing Se mines 7 years ago! Your highness! This is terrible! You need to go back to the Earth Kingdom! Your sick father awaits your return!"

"Sick?" Sokka slapped his own forehead hard; Toph fought the urge to start making questions and gulped hard. "I can't go back to the Earth Kingdom… not until I'm 16, and even then, Madam Wu told me I may much likely not like what I will find there…" Suki was confused, Toph then found her blind eyes widening once noticing there was no one else on top of Appa. "Where is Ty Lee?" Sad vibrations then came from Sokka; Toph couldn't help but feel scared. "What are those vibrations? Sokka? What happened to Ty Lee?"

"Nothing is wrong, Ty Lee is fine, really, nothing bad happened to her." He added nervously, but his vibrations weren't calm, they were full with fear and confusion, as if he was about to give Toph some shocking news. "…Ty Lee… she… well… she left…" Toph was speechless; Sokka just gave her a sad stare. "There is a lot we need to talk about… so… we better stay away from the rain…" He then took Toph's hand and helped her on her way back to the temple.

* * *

Ty Lee was never good at tracking down animals, she and Sokka were always traveling together to do the hunting so they could have a decent dinner for the small group of mercenaries as well as for the many kids at the orphanage, still, since now she only had Hawky as traveling companion, she had to trust the hawk to do the tracking, and gladly for her, the hawk was actually doing a good job since it had found a decent prey for today's breakfast. In front of her was a Saber-Toothed-Mouse-Lion, it was a young one, not as the huge creatures that are usually a very hard to hunt beast. This prey was probably too much for a lone hunter, but it was the best she could find at the Patola Mountain range since there were no Fox-Bunnies to hunt here.

"Spirits of life who blessed this land on times when the spirits walked on earth, allow this life to find a path toward your blessing, since today the life that will be sacrificed will keep another one alive." She prayed before launching her arrow, it was a perfect shot, the animal never felt the hit, it just died with no pain, that was the style of hunting Ty Lee had, she could be deadly, but would never use her skills to kill unless necessary.

She made a reverence Air Nomad style, she was taught by monk Gyatso to pray for the souls she selfishly helped toward the spirits world by killing their bodies, Ty Lee was good hearted, she disliked even killing animals, but it was something that needed to be done for her survival. "There is no way I can eat all this meat." She said as Hawky landed on top of the body of the now dead animal. "I know you don't like to fly under the rain, but you will have to do some travels, I'm not sure if monk Gyatso still has supplies, and we can't allow all this meat to rotten." She then sneezed hard; she had being all morning under the rain and now was victim of a cold. "Let's get to work, I do need some rest." She took a knife from her boot and began cutting the meat, which was normally Sokka's job, so she ended finding the situation to be a gross one. "OK, now I have a new found respect toward Sokka's job."

A Few hours later, she had finished cutting the good meat and had packed it all nicely around some leafs, Hawky was done with what seemed to be his seventh trip carrying the meat, he was a strong war hawk, but he could travel no more and ended landing heavily on top of the branch of a tall tree Ty Lee was now using as shelter from the rain. "It's ok Hawky, no more traveling; these 3 packages will serve us as food for the next 3 days." She said while lighting a fire and then placed some sticks to hang a pot monk Gyatso send to Ty Lee as a thank you gift. "Gyatso is so nice, I told him not to worry about me going solo on my message, he didn't have to send a pot to me, but now I'm glad he did; now I can cook my special soup!" She added happily while placing some ingredients inside of the pot.

"Oh, and let's not forget about the strong War Hawk who did all the hard work, while you were off, I picked some grapes, these are your favorite!" Hawky happily flew down the branch and began eating the berries Ty Lee placed on the floor. The girl just took her clothes off, revealing her bandaged body, and then placed her top to dry at a second fire she had started after setting the pot. "I'm going to change into my pajama, so no peaking, hawk or not, you are still a male." Hawky faced away, Ty Lee just smiled at the smart hawk and then got changed into dry clothes, she was now wearing a silk made pink robe. After she was done dressing, she took her eye patch off, revealing the milky but between brown and gray colored eye, she then placed the eye patch to dry, also, when doing it so, she noticed the glove she now wore, she took it off and placed it by the fire as well while admiring the golden emblem of the Fire Nation. "What am I supposed to do now? I know I needed some alone time, but I could have thought about it better before just running away like the time I joined the circus back at the Fire Nation."

She of course got no reply, or at least not the kind of reply she would normally have, since only Hawky was there to keep her company, not that she disliked such company, she actually liked the hawk quite a lot. "Let's see, how does Sokka think? We have our crossroads, Fire Nation, I don't think so, going back there wouldn't be a nice experience." The hawk nodded while understanding what Ty Lee was saying. "You are a smart guy, aren't you? The next road leads us to going back to the orphanage, and so far that's not an option either, I miss the kids, but having a former Fire Nation noble there, now a hunted mercenary, isn't something I would call safe." Hawky faced the temple at the top of the mountain; Ty Lee moved her head in negation. "I don't think I can look at her highness's face anymore Hawky, I betrayed her trust, not to mention I don't know if I'm still loyal to her, remember Azula? Well, before Toph, Azula was the person I was always taking care of… although Azula normally blasted me away of her… I wonder what happened to Azula, I haven't seen her since the last time I saw her." Hawky gave Ty Lee an odd stare. "Yeah, that sounded very Sokka-like."

There was silence once again; her mind was going through a lot of thinking, but she ignored all her problems in order to concentrate in her now growling stomach, she took a wooden made plate from her bag, as well as the Baguazhang scrolls, she then began eating while reading the scrolls. "I have memorized almost all the scrolls, and thanks to Suki, I know the basis, but I still have a lot of training to do, too bad I don't have the concentration to do it, Baguazhang is just not my style of fighting." Hawky then stared at the scrolls. "Don't be ridiculous, you are smart and can understand what I'm saying, but there is no way you can read." She rubbed the hawk, who enjoyed the feeling and rubbed himself back against her. "Sokka and Toph are always training, I do train too, but I always end up wondering how can they place so much effort into their training, remember the day Sokka finally beat me in Chi Blocking? Well, that hurt, Chi Blocking was my specialty, if it weren't because I know the ultimate Chi Blocking technique and he doesn't, I would think my position as Master was breeched… in order to perfect my Chi Blocking I need to learn Baguazhang…" A determined look was then drawn on her face, she took all the scrolls out and hanged them by the branch of the tree, and since it was a tall tree, no water hit the old scrolls. "I will also, do my best."

She placed her body in the posture Suki taught her, and then she began moving as the five scrolls told her to. Her moves were graceful and almost perfect, her training in Chi Blocking allowed her body to move gracefully, and the little she learned of Aikido was enough to help her speed up her movements. Her moves were almost like a dance, moving her arms and legs in perfect opposite synchrony, like moving a hand in circles toward a direction and the other hand in the opposite one at the same time, it is something human brain finds hard to do, but Ty Lee was able to do it with little effort, she had been training her hands and legs since she was five years old, these odd movements were already printed on her brain, she only needed to follow the rules.

"I always wondered why Jeong Jeong used to say I was a prodigy in hand to hand combat, when I followed no plans of action and only allowed my body to move on its own, having a reckless fighting style, hitting the first Chi Point I could see… when I lost my eye, I found out perhaps Jeong Jeong was right, I was perhaps a prodigy, I couldn't see it with two eyes, but I could with one, I memorized everything, every Chi Point, acupuncture ones, Gyatso even taught me how to read a someone's movements before they were made by reading the tension of a muscle, and Suki began teaching me to hit and deflect an attack in the proper place for it not to hurt me, maybe that's the why behind me never taking training seriously… I'm already a fighting prodigy." She finished the five scrolls with perfect movements, but for some reason, she wasn't satisfied yet.

"…I'm not a trustworthy person…" She said while resting herself against the tree. "I was always jealous, about Sokka for beating me in my own specialty, about Toph having Sokka all for herself, about them both being so strong and always trying hard to fulfill their objectives while I was only a lazy do nothing girl always complaining about her lost eye… I was selfish… and now I need them so much…" She sobbed, Hawky rubbed himself against her trying to comfort her, only this time it was not working.

* * *

At the Air Temple, Toph was sadly playing with her food and moving it all around the place with her fork, Sokka, who was sharing the table with her, just stared at the blind girl with sadness. "I can eat your vegetables if you don't want them." Toph lowered her face for various reasons, just then Sokka noticed the whole plate was full with vegetables. "Oh… right… sorry…"

"I'm sick with a flu and Ty Lee isn't here to take care of me… I never realized how much she helped me out…" She said while cleaning her endlessly running nose with her clothes, which was a nasty view for Sokka. "Why did she leave me? She broke her promise; she promised she would always take care of me… it is so unfair…" She finally broke into tears, it had been so long since Sokka saw her like this, she was strong and determined, but she was still a soft hearted girl, not having Ty Lee near her was like losing her motherly figure, it was something heart breaking.

"Toph, don't cry like that, it was something Ty Lee had to do." Toph moved her head in negation and kept crying, Sokka just nervously tried to find something to say. "She will come back, trust me, Ty Lee cares a lot about you, I'm sure she didn't want to break her promise, but sometimes promises need to be broken, you can't surely believe everyone will keep their promises." Toph slammed her hand strongly against the table, Sokka flinched, just as it had been so long since he last saw Toph so heart breaking, it had been so long since he saw her mad.

"So… that's the way things are, aren't they…?" She spoke out coldly, and Sokka could do nothing but flinch at her shattering voice. "…People break promises… are you saying I was a fool for believing someone was going to try to keep a promise she did 2 years ago…? Well… how about one that was made 7 years ago…?" Sokka took a few seconds to realize what Toph was talking about, and once he did, he felt his jaw dropping. "Forget it; I don't want to hear it!"

"What? Wait! Toph, you know that wasn't what I meant! Come on! You can't seriously be thinking I'm going to break my promise!" Toph ignored Sokka, stood up, and stormed away. "Hey! Seriously girl! That's not what I meant! I'm not breaking my promise!" He rushed after her, only this time he noticed Toph interrupted her march. "…Hey… Toph… come on; don't ignore me like this after so long of not seeing you, I'm not going to break my promise to you… I promise…" He smiled weirdly toward her, Toph breathed out, relaxing and allowing her anger to leave her.

"…I know…" Sokka blinked twice not really believing Toph had let go of her anger so easily. "…I'm still sad… but I'm not mad… I just, need some time to meditate on my own…" Sokka was about to speak out when he found it best to just remain in silence, right now, it was best not to bother Toph. "Thanks for understanding, Sokka." She then walked out of the room and toward her own.

* * *

Ty Lee woke up hours later only to find out it was already night time, the rain luckily was over already, but unfortunately for her, there weren't enough dry sticks of wood nearby to try to light a new fire. Sleeping for so long got her hungry, and she ended eating the cold remaining inside of the pot, she then cursed herself for not taking precautions as Sokka would force her to, but ignoring it all, she got dressed in her now dry but cold clothes, and rolled the scrolls closed before finally placing them inside of Hawky's carrying tube. "They will be safer with you." She said while rubbing the feathers on top of Hawky's head. "We better look for a place to spend the night; I don't think I will be able to stand another night camping on the open."

The pair then made their way around the forest. "What's the closest path toward civilization aside of the Air Temple?" Hawky flew up high; Ty Lee followed him trying to focus her only useful eye on the object flying around. "Seems like my vision at nights is improving… although it's nowhere near normal… I still need to…" She stopped her march before colliding with a tree. "…Practice my night walks…" She said amazed, normally, she would have hit face first the tree in front of her, but somehow she managed to know it was there and moved around it. "Hey, hearing the wind isn't half bad, I'm already getting used to, wah!" She yelled hard while tripping with a root and hitting face first the floor. "Never mind… I still can't walk at nights easily." She said while standing up and cleaning her clothes.

She then waited near a clear path for Hawky to come down, and once he did, she offered her gloved hand to it for him to land. "Found anyone?" The Hawk nodded. "Fine then, take me to them." She followed the hawk around the forest for a while, but she disliked it, she was looking for civilization, and Hawky was only leading her deeper inside of the forest, it wasn't that she didn't trust Hawky, but she felt more lost from time to time. "Are we there yet?" She spoke while moving many vines away from her face; she then noticed a fire a few meters in front of her. "Seems like I'm not the only one camping on the opens… oh well, better than doing it alone I suppose." But when walking closer, she found out it wasn't a common camping but found a whole army there. "Fire Nation!" She yelled in a whisper toward Hawky. "What are they doing here? These are Air Nomads territories!"

"General Qin, Lady Mai, we are ready for our orders." Upon hearing the names, Ty Lee flinched and forced her eye to adjust the view, thanks to the light of the many fires around the campsite, she could see perfectly, and so, her eye was posed on Mai, her best friend when they used to live at the Fire Nation, only now she didn't know what to think about her, since apparently, she was now a head in the military department, and a close advisor to General Qin. "Our settlement is complete, our soldiers ready, the machinery fixed, and the Dragon-Hounds, impatient, we are ready to attack whenever you order it sir."

"An outstanding job, commander, but I must ask, are you sure there are no more witnesses? The Earth King's personal advisor, Long Feng, gave us access to the kingdom, but even we can't keep the citizens silent enough, not to mention we can't sell anymore slaves at the Fire Nation as we used to do ever since the civil war erupted." Ty Lee was surprised by the news, she heard from Sokka long time ago that what made Zuko become the Blue Spirit and start the civil war was the slavery at his nation, people from different kingdoms, all being sold at the Fire Nation even when Ozai and Lao, the rulers of the biggest empires in the world, declared slave selling was now forbidden. Still, there was slavery, and the slave merchants kept selling younger slaves from time to time, and now Ty Lee had a clear idea of the reason, there was no way an army this big could be transported to the Earth Kingdom without being noticed, the army was built here, and anyone discovering it was captured and sold as a slave, they probably had been building it for more than 5 years.

"Unfortunately, general, we did find more witnesses, we would normally keep the usual procedure and execute them, but the intruders are Fire Nation and Air Nomads." A group of soldiers then arrived with some prisoners; Ty Lee recognized 5 of the captured members, the Rough Rhinos. "These five used to be soldiers, they were found unconscious near the Southern Air Temple, we also captured two nomads, and old man and a boy, since they are nomads, we don't know what to do with them." More soldiers arrived; a couple of them carried a young boy around the age of 13, he looked more Earth Kingdom than Air Nomad since his hair was brown and messy, but he was wearing Air Nomad's tunics, his legs were all mended, and Ty Lee was able to see they were not just broken but weak, the boy probably hadn't used them in a long time. The other prisoner was an old man with an odd hair and burned eyebrows, his long beard was also messy and he smelt to explosive powder, Ty Lee's first guess was he was attacked by his captors, but his skin wasn't burned, the burns he had were from long time ago, Ty Lee also noticed 3 of the fingers at the man's left hand were gone and replaced with wooden made ones. "When capturing this nomads, we found many interesting artifacts, the prisoner is a smart inventor."

Mai then approached to the old man, he was unconscious, but she forced the eyes of the man open, waking him up while doing it so. "Grey eyes, now, let's see the boy." Mai also forced the boy to open his eyes, they were also grey, but the boy's ones were colored in a softer grey color. "These two are not airbenders, they have dirty blood! How disgusting!" If there was anything Fire Nation people hated, those were the dirty bloods, people whose parents weren't from the same nationality, for example, the Earth Kingdom boy with soft grey eyes, his Father was an Earth Kingdom dirty blood, and his mother was much likely an Air Nomad. "Speak, dirty blood! Give me one good reason as to why should you live!"

"My lady, we are nothing but peregrines, outsiders learning the culture of the Air Nomads, we wish no harm to anyone, all we seek for is illumination, we have traveled from the Northern Air Temple to continue our illumination here at the Southern Air Temple." Mai gave the old man a disgusting stare, general Qin just analyzed the many inventions the old man had. "Do whatever you want with me, but please, allow my son, Teo, to live, I'm begging you!"

"Disgusting, these two should also be executed! Forget about the Air Nomads suspecting an attack, we are declaring war to them tomorrow, they don't have enough time to get ready for the invasion, besides, killing some supposed monks a bit earlier will change nothing." Ty Lee was surprised by the news, declaring war to the Air Nomads was madness, to attack such a peaceful civilization for no reason was only something a mad ruler would do, she now saw it clearly, the reasons behind Zuko's betrayal to his nation, the Fire Nation, was a sick one. "Execute them!"

"Wait! This man could be useful to us." General Qin spoke out interrupting Mai's orders to be fulfilled. "This person here is an inventor, just look at the many scrolls, the beautiful designs, with his help, we could create even greater weapons than the ones we already have, our plan of expansion and repatriation could be fulfilled faster than planed and with fewer casualties."

"Repatriation?" Spoke Ty Lee out in a whisper, Mai turned around and send a knife flying toward the direction she heard a voice coming from, Ty Lee evaded the knife but upon doing it so she, was discovered. "Fly away!" She yelled toward the hawk as she took her bow and arrow in hand and began firing at the soldiers that had captured the Rough Rhinos, once the group of mercenaries was released from the captors, they broke havoc around the place while fighting the Fire Nation soldiers, still, just a small group of five and a mercenary girl weren't enough to defeat a whole army, and so, Ty Lee ran her way inside of the forest.

"That girl! Could it be…? Capture her! I want her alive!" Many soldiers ran inside of the forest in search of Ty Lee, many others ran after the Rough Rhinos, but the great majority stayed behind. "Turn the fire off, you two take the dirty bloods toward the main bunker, they will live for now, and someone get my Mongoose Dragon ready!" The whole army was mobilized, and the forest was surrounded by the movement of the trees, a hunt was taking place, and this time, the hunter was the one being chased down.

* * *

At the Southern Air Temple, no one suspected there was an invasion force ready for an attack, everything was as usual peace and quietness, something Toph was already getting used to, although she would always chose a good fight at a bar or going out in a mercenary mission than staying at a temple doing meditation. However, tonight is was different, as Pasang had told her before, she had learned to control her emotions and give importance to the ones she wanted and needed to feel instead of allowing many different emotions running free to change her judgment. Right now she was doing just that, allowing her body to calm down, and accept the emotion she wanted to feel right now, that emotion could be described as emptiness, since there was a hole in her heart that needed to be filled, the emotion she was experimenting was sadness.

"Are you going to keep doing this to yourself?" Sokka arrived to the room, Toph was aware of it even before he arrived, but she did nothing to push him away, she just cleaned the tears away from her blind eyes so Sokka wouldn't see them, Sokka, however, was aware of her tears. "The monk's life style did hit you; I really never thought I was ever going to see you like this ever again." He stood in front of her; Toph remained in silence and with her face lowered. "Can I sit?" She nodded; Sokka tried hard to sit at the lotus position as Toph was, but had no luck. "You make it look easy." He said while trying to fix his legs.

"I know you are trying to cheer me up, but I don't think you will be successful this time." Sokka gave her a sad stare; she could feel it in her vibrations. "It's not like last time, I still can talk, I'm in shock and feeling as hurt as back then… but I'm stronger than I was before… I understand now that not all promises can be kept."

"I will keep mine." He added with a real smile, Toph smiled back, but only for a second before lowering her face again. "Ty Lee felt she had betrayed your trust, that's why she left, she also needs to find out if she is really following you and aiming for the day of your coronation as the Earth Queen, or just following us because of me… upon other things…" Toph nodded once again. "Are you going to be ok?"

"Eventually… yeah… sort of… I think so at least…" Sokka laughed a little, Toph raised an eyebrow at that last. "That surely helps me feel much better, thanks a lot Sokka, laughing at such a situation is so like you." This time Sokka understood the sarcasm but kept smiling for Toph. "What's so funny?"

"You are funny." Toph interrupted the lotus position and got ready to walk away. "And as usual, once you are embarrassed, you try to run away." She turned around and crossed her arms in annoyance, Sokka stood up after setting his legs free from the painful lotus position and walked weakly toward Toph. "Just accept you have forgiven her already." Toph's face changed to one full with concern, but no more sadness. "Ty Lee is like a mother, she would never leave her daughter alone for no reason, and you will soon understand that when you need her the most, she will be back." Toph punched him hard, he rubbed his arm. "What was that for?"

"Shut up! You can act all wise guy-like all you want! But you should really stop telling me things I already know!" Sokka rolled his eyes. "I felt that!" He flinched. "I know she will be back… thanks for reminding me about it…" She added now with a smile on her face. "And stop complaining about me hitting you." She blushed. "…It's just the way I show affection you know…" She blushed even harder, Sokka, as usual, just smiled at the weird girl Toph was.

"There are better ways to show affection you know?" She nodded. "For example, this is the way I show affection." He leaned closer to her and stole a kiss from her lips, at first she expressed surprise by backing off a little, but she then pressed the kiss back while standing on her tip toes, for a while, they continued kissing, but once they found in need of air they both broke it and Toph punched him hard. "Ouch! That felt very affectionless!"

"You deserve it! Stop growing taller already! Standing on my tip toes is no easy you know." Sokka laughed at her, the girl 'faced' him with anger, but soon, her anger faded,being replaced with embarrassment, she missed having a moment with her boyfriend so much, a moment she of course ignored and pushed Sokka away from her in annoyance and walked away, however, a beautiful smile remained on her face.

* * *

Down the Patola Mountain Range, and deep inside of the forest, Ty Lee tried to stand up after the beating she just took, she was sweating hard, and her body was all bruised, but someone could tell her opponents had a very different luck. Many Fire Nation soldiers were scattered around the floor, they were both, paralyzed by Ty Lee's Chi Blocking, or immobilized by a rain of arrows she launched toward them, of course she made sure no arrow killed anyone, she was a mercenary and a hunter, but never an assassin, unfortunately, she knew an assassin that just now was after her, she stood up weakly and took her bow up, some soldiers arrived and ran toward her.

"You guys have no end, have you?" She said as she placed herself in Baguazhang posture with her longbow in hand, many soldiers attacked at the same time, she moved as she learned from the scrolls she read and blocked everyone, also using her flexible movements to force the soldiers to hit one another, combining perfectly the impenetrable defense of the Baguazhang with the unpredictable movements of Chi Blocking, and also using her longbow as a weapon to hit anyone she could Air Nomad style since long time ago she ran out of arrows. One by one, every soldier fell in defeat, Ty Lee just allowed her knees to beat her back to the floor once the whole thing was over, she could barely see at night, and there was no telling her skills reading the wind and using Baguazhang had improved greatly, but it wasn't enough, not to survive against what came next. "Hi Mai." She said with a sweet tone of voice while standing up and staring at the arriving war advisor on top of a Mongoose Dragon.

"I must say I'm very impressed, even if my face remains as emotionless as usual." Ty Lee cleaned the sweat from her face; Mai just ordered her Mongoose Dragon to circle the girl. "My first surprise was to see you here after two long years of knowing nothing from you; I thought perhaps you had escaped to the circus once again during the confusion of the civil war." Ty Lee continued trying to gain some air while Mai kept talking. "My second surprise was seeing your eye patched face, we were friends, the best ones despite our differences, seeing your face like that worried me a little." Ty Lee gave Mai an honest smile but then spun her bow as if it was some kind of staff when noticing the Mongoose Dragon coming closer. "My third surprise, was to see you attacking your own nation, it was then when I realized you were a traitor, but in honor of our past friendship, it wasn't me the one trying to capture you but my soldiers, it was then when my fourth surprise came, when seeing you defeat 30 soldiers on your own… right now I'm specking a fifth surprise… tell me your motives, what pushed you to do all you did… and… do it fast… surprised or not, I'm easy to bore, you know I am."

"Wow Mai, one would tell that after all these years you would have changed your aura, but it is still as dingy and pasty and as grey as ever." She added with a real smile meaning no harm to Mai, the girl never reflected any emotion at all. "Well, it's not like I can explain what happened, I fall in love with someone, and followed him wherever he went, but he broke my heart since he loves someone I love a lot too, it took me two years to realize I had no chance, and so, right now I'm going solo." Mai reflected annoyance, Ty Lee's smile faded. "You are going to try to kill me, don't you?"

"A few days ago, princess Azula send me a message, she said she saw you, she gave me no more details, her message only read that you were 'alive and healthy', I was disgusted by her message since it reflected a lot of emotions." Ty Lee lowered her face depressed, she never thought about how much it would have hurt Azula to find she was gone without saying a word, actually, Ty Lee always thought Azula would never mind. "Ty Lee, we were always trying to help our princess to be a great ruler, but when you left, she was horribly sad, and she was never the same… she grew weak… she needed you more than what you thought, because you reflected the person she never wanted to become… and for leaving her alone… she turned more and more like you… she became more caring… less self-centered, and lost the interest she once had in war… for that… I will punish you…"

"Aw, I remember your punishments; can't I say I'm sorry?" She faked a smile, Mai noticed and climbed her Mongoose Dragon down and walked toward Ty Lee. "You never liked my games, Mai, I thought I could change your heart, I see I was wrong." Mai faced Ty Lee with annoyance; the girl returned the stare but soon felt intimidated and faced away. "I don't want to fight you."

"Of course you don't want to, circus girl! Every time something happens, you ignore the problem and run away! Isn't that the kind of girl you are? A runaway?" Ty Lee's eyes watered, right now she was running away from Toph, it was something painful, but being reminded about it was even more painful. "First it was because of your family, there was a problem you couldn't solve and what did you do? You ran away. Then the civil war at our nation, when your princess needed you the must, you saw the suffering of our nation, and what did you do? You ran away! Why, even now I'm sure you are running away from something! I can see it in your eye, that disgusting look of concern in your face, that look of disappointment! That look of hatred toward yourself! You are nothing but a circus freak!" Ty Lee had enough; she slapped Mai hard and forced the girl to back off.

"Yes, I'm a circus freak! You wanna know why I joined the circus? Do you have any idea what my home life was like? Growing up with six sisters who look exactly like me. It was like I didn't even have my own name. I joined the circus because I was afraid of spending the rest of my life as part of a matched set. At least I'm different now. Circus freak is a compliment!" She added in annoyance and with tears in her eyes, Mai was about to say something, but Ty Lee spoke out first. "Then the civil war, I couldn't see it! It was so painful to see my nation in flames and to see Azula's concerned face when it all began! I had no choice! I did what I thought was best! And that was follow my heart and protect the ones I cared for the most! I never interacted with her before, I never thought I was going to have these feelings, I never thought I was going to want to protect her, I never thought I was going to sacrifice my eye to save her, but I did it for her, I did it for him, and I did it because I have faith in her saving my nation from slavery and civil wars! Sacrificing my eye was probably the best thing that could ever happen to me; otherwise, I would still be a carefree and helpless little girl… thanks a lot Mai! You opened my eye! Now I'm sure where my loyalty belongs!" Mai finally attacked Ty Lee, the girl saw the sharp blade approaching and blocked with her hand in chi blocking position. "I will protect her! I will give my life for her if needed be!"

"Then, it will be my pleasure to help you!" Mai resumed her attack, she tried to slash Ty Lee with her sharp daggers, Ty Lee moved around gracefully and ignored her tired body, she moved quick, dodging every move and then kicking Mai away from her, once that was done, she ran away, climbing the trees and jumping from a branch to the other one making her way toward the Air Temple. "You won't escape from me! The attack toward the temple may take place tomorrow, but today, you and I fight!"

"I'm not going to fight you!" She yelled while on top of a branch, she then avoided a knife that flew dangerously close to her left eye. "Are you trying to blind me?" She then jumped to a new branch just in time to avoid many sharp objects Mai threw toward her. "Please, Mai! We are still friends! Don't do this! We wanted to help Azula to create a nation she would be proud of!" Ty Lee moved her face in every direction trying to find Mai, her eye was used to the dark now, but she knew it wasn't good enough to help her fight Mai, she just wanted to speak and try to convince her into stopping, her ears then heard the sound of breaking wind, and so, she turned around and blocked the dagger Mai had thrown to her face. "Don't do this!"

"What I'm doing is for my princess! As we speak, she is traveling the seas searching for her long lost brother, but she will never find him… we all know Zuko is dead… that's why I'm placing all my attention in my new dream, to create a nation my princess will rule with iron fist and eradicate the imperfects!" Ty Lee stared at Mai with disgust, Mai returned the stare. "Dirty Bloods, Air Nomad freaks and Water Tribe Savages, all of them pollute the blood of humans, and so they must be exterminated! Tomorrow we start the Air Nomad genocide! We will then travel toward the other temples and eliminate our enemies! Once the nomads are gone, we will find the Avatar and end his life!"

"Are you hearing what you are saying? That's madness!" Mai ignored Ty Lee and resumed the attack; Ty Lee blocked and dodged, but never trying to enter the Baguazhang pose. "Why? The Air Nomads never hurt anyone! Through all their existence, they had never engaged in conflict, why thinking on their extermination? Is it really only to get to the Avatar?" Mai took a long sword from her tunic and slashed, Ty Lee was fast enough to block the sword with the palms of both hands, being careful enough to avoid the blade so it wouldn't cut her skin. "Mai, please stop this!"

"Once the Avatar dies, it will be born a waterbender, they are our next target, we are already doing preparations for war, the Earth Kingdom will lend us their aid, with the Earth King weak and about to die, a new ruler will take his place, he had been giving us access to the Earth Kingdom for so long, don't you see it, Ty Lee, this was always meant to happen." Mai kicked Ty Lee, the girl fell from the tree branch and toward some bushes, she quickly recovered and ran away toward the temple, but Mai jumped down the branch and landed in front of her. "The perfect world is close from being a reality."

"Mai, when we met, you were silent and determined, I thought you could help Azula become a great Fire Princess, I even though you would marry Zuko and you two would lead our nation together, but now I see you don't have what it takes to be a Fire Lady, you are sick, you think about nothing but war and conquering, what happened to you? Why this change of attitude? You are not like this!" Once again Mai launched several daggers toward Ty Lee, who dodged them all. "Mai! Quit interrupting me!"

"You think this is a game? The games are over, all that is left is fight, I used to be reserved and silent, always behaving and being the lady my parents wished me to be, but then I noticed behaving wasn't what was needed, with Zuko and Azula and you all gone, I was left alone, I was a mindless daughter behaving in order not to damage her father's political career… then Ozai came to me, he said I was born for more, he had a vision of a perfect world, a world that belongs to the Fire Nation, I will live to make that dream real, and once that is done, Azula will have no choice but return." Mai didn't attack this time, she just stared at Ty Lee with hatred, Ty Lee hid her bow, she was planning on using it as a staff to defend herself, but she was finally ready to attack back. "You will fight me back now?"

"…I'm tired…" Spoke Ty Lee out while gasping for air. "…I'm tired of hearing this Mai… this is not the Mai I know… you are not my friend… you are not that girl I loved so much…" She took the Baguazhang posture; Mai just took her sharpest daggers out and got ready. "…I will fight to prevent your dream… I have a different vision now, I will fight for my princess, I will fight for Princess Azula and Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation! I will fight for Earth Princess Toph Bei fong! And I will fight for Sokka! The Prince of the Water Tribe! I will live to see each of them going to the throne!" Ty Lee completed the posture, Mai was surprised by the revelations, but the smile on her face reflected she already had some knowledge about everything Ty Lee had said. "Come on Mai, you are about to see a different Ty Lee."

"I can't remember the last time I had so much fun." She added with a cold stare. "I will gladly push you toward the grave." And so it finally began, the real fight, with both of them at their fullest, Mai as always was the first one to attack, Ty Lee, with the help of her Baguazhang skills, blocked every attack without losing her position, defense and offence were working together to stop Mai. "Drop dead!" Mai yelled while aiming to Ty Lee's throat, but once again Ty Lee used her flexibility to move away. "Circus Freak!"

"Homicidal Maniac!" She slapped Mai hard, hard enough to force her nose to bleed. "I wish I could say sorry, but this time I don't feel like it." Mai jumped back and threw many daggers toward Ty Lee, the one eyed girl took her longbow out and began spinning it as a staff and hitting every edge without damaging the bow. "You know, Jeong Jeong was right when he said I was a master in hand to hand combat, it doesn't takes me long to learn, I have watched certain airbender girl using her staff a lot lately, and a longbow isn't that different."

"I don't care about your tricks, I will win this fight, just you wait and see." Mai took once again the sharp sword out of her tunic, she then slashed, Ty Lee hid her bow and used her left arm to hit the edge and redirect it toward the nearest tree, forcing the edge inside of it and trapping it there, she then kicked Mai's face once again, forcing her back and to cover her nose. "I hate you so much."

"Hard to believe I'm saying this, but the feeling is mutual." Ty Lee then kicked the sword, avoiding the edge, and breaking it in half, Mai wasn't impressed, she just cleaned the blood away from her nose and got ready. "Spirits of life who blessed this land on times when the spirits walked on earth…" Ty Lee began while placing her left hand in Chi Blocking position. "Allow this life to find a path toward your blessing, since today the life that will be sacrificed will keep another one alive… accept her soul and care for her, since this life is the one of someone that once meant a lot to me…" She finished her praying, and once she did, she moved fast and away from her position, she then dodged the edge of a knife from Mai and spun around until standing at Mai's back. "Good bye Mai." She then moved her fingers toward a point where she knew Mai's heart was, but moments before hitting the point, she stopped. "What am I thinking?" Ty Lee fell to her knees. "Was I really… about to kill my former best friend…? Forgive me, Mai… please forgive me…" She cried hard, Mai turned around and stared at her. "The ultimate Chi Blocking technique, the forbidden move… I can't use it… I don't want to."

"That was… a horrible experience…" Mai said while wielding a dagger and attacking Ty Lee with it, the girl closed her eye and waited for the edge to hit her, but she felt nothing, she opened her eye slowly only to find the edge inches away from her only eye, she then saw how it moved away from her face. "You spared my life, I spare yours, now we are even, but that doesn't means I will allow you to leave." Ty Lee continued crying, she was horrified at her own actions. "You no longer have the will to fight me, surrender, and I promise that in honor of our past friendship, you will not be judged, and your punishment will be a short one." Ty Lee nodded, she gave up, her deadly skills were better imprisoned and away from anyone that could get hurt by her actions. "Now, with you in prison, nothing can stop me from my fulfilling my objective, tomorrow morning I will lead my army to the Air Temple, and destroy it." Ty Lee said and did nothing, she just allowed Mai to tie her hands, and then allowed her to walk her all the way toward the camp site.

From the top of a tall tree, someone witnessed everything that had happened, Hawky, the Red-Ribbon-War-Hawk, understood since the battle began that he would get killed if he got involved, Mai was very different than the Shirsu he attacked at the desert, and even more fearless than the Dragon-Hound he distracted back at the Fire Nation, his interference would have ended painfully, but right now he had two courses of action, one was leave toward the temple and alert the group of what was going on, or follow Ty Lee and try to help her, while facing both directions, the hawk took a decision, he then cried hard and took flight, toward the Fire Nation campsite.


	18. Genocide, Part One

**Slavery Mark: Book Two – Air.**

**Chapter Eight: Genocide, Part One.**

* * *

Through the empty halls of the Southern Air Temple, a lone figure makes a silent walk around the temple, the sun was close to rising toward the sky, and the monks would as usual start their daily morning praying sessions. A monk, however, was exempt of the daily ceremonial praying sessions, since this monk was already one the spirits had no need to ask for his loyalty, the one they held close to them and is the bridge between the world of humans and the spiritual world, Aang, the last Avatar in a long line of predecessors, predecessors that today he is visiting at one of the sacred places only a few could enter, the chamber of the statues, the place where every Avatar was remembered.

"Time is always so unpredictable, it has many different directions, many different paths to follow, a variation in time can always change the strings of fortune, and that fortune can, in minor instances, change the future… it happened once, and the spirits won't allow it to happen again." Spoke the old Avatar while entering the sacred chamber, one only him and his granddaughter could enter. "Today the spirits asked me something I never thought I would be asked to do, and so I have demanded this reunion to take place, Avatars from ancient times, leave your stone graves and come to this world." The eyes of every statue in the room began shining, and the stones were replaced by the aura of every Avatar awakening once again and returning to the world of humans, a world they left behind in ancient times. "My past existences, the strings of fortune once changed the future we now live at, breaking time and dividing it in different time lines, the universe we currently live at is an example of such variation, the spirits won't allow a second event to happen, today, they are planning on planting the seed of this world's destruction, this world that wasn't supposed to exist, will disappear so the spirits can conserve time and space as intact as possible."

"Avatar Aang." Spoke one of the spirits that had left his stone prison behind, the old Avatar was dressed in the usual Fire Nation clothes, he was the previous Avatar. "I, Avatar Roku, would like to speak in behalf of my Fire Nation brothers when I say that this existence is nowhere near bad or good as the original source… upon dying, we, the Avatar's, are allowed to see the secret world everything came from, it is different, but the essence of the two existences are the same." Every Avatar nodded at Roku's words, Avatar Aang sadly was the only one moving his head in negation. "At the source existence, our world was at war, but the events that happened 400 years ago forced the events at both existences to be different, there was an Air Nomad genocide in the original existence, one that happened 100 years ago, and that today, the spirits are planning on recreating to bring this existence to an end, my question is, should we follow the words of the spirits, or should we defy them to preserve this existence that had existed as an independent one for more than 400 years?"

"Avatar Aang, I wish to speak as well." Spoke Roku's predecessor, Kioshy. Aang nodded and allowed the spirit to speak. "Just recently, we, the Avatars, were allowed to see both existences, the spirits, however, said the two existences weren't meant to exist and declared one between the two should survive, and the other one should be erased." The Avatars all began discussing the decision of the spirits, Avatar Kyoshi just continued. "Only four Avatars have an alternate existence, I, Avatar Kioshy, care little of what my other self did at her world, this is my world, the one I fought many years to protect, the one I lost my humanity for and earned my rightful place as the spirit of earth, now, as a spirit and Avatar, only one feeling remains in my mind, the feeling of survival, will we allow the spirits to destroy our world only for the sake of preservation of individual time lines? I wouldn't allow it, and I'm planning to fight for the preservation of my existence."

"Your words are wise indeed, but Kioshy, understand the spirit's law is one that can't be broken, even if it means sacrificing our existence." Avatar Aang continued, but every other Avatar was immersed in a debate, Avatars or not, their existence after the dead was threatened. "We know more about the world than what we are supposed to, we know there is a different world out there in which the Avatar was lost for more than 100 years, a world the spirits decided to leave to evolve on its own with little interference so they could place their attention in the anomaly that is our existence, the original existence remains intact, and every action is approved by the spirits, however, ours is a different one, every action is being watched, every action is judged, the spirits took the decision of siding with humans and drive them toward their survival or extinction, many spirits wished this existence would remain, but many want to erase it, we, the Avatars, swore to keep equilibrium, but now, our interference is forbidden."

"Avatar Aang, my words may not mean much, but as the source of this world's existence, I must speak in behalf of this world." Every Avatar went into silence as Avatar Kuruk spoke out. "I was the reason behind the separation, I played with the strings of fortune and tied the future into changing, the present we live today at, is the consequence of my past actions, the result of my essence splitting into two different ways, and creating the different existences… as punishment, upon my dead, the spirits forced me to be the first Avatar to see both worlds, in both, my tribe is in ruins, in both, there is war, in both, my blood interferes in the future… I'm not excusing my actions, but my actions gave birth to this existence, and for the sake of every living entity on this world, I will fight, even if it means going against the spirits, I have suffered and eternity for my actions, well, I will suffer even more if it means the survival of this world! Wasn't that why we selected our heroes, those who the spirits are watching?"

"The selection of those who the spirits are watching, was one made so the spirits would no longer see us, the Avatars, who after Kuruk's dead, were forbidden from finding equilibrium but to side with our believes, the spirits only wanted to test us and see what would happen." All attention was directed to Aang, the old man lowered his face. "At the original source, there is only one airbender, here in this world there are many, but they will disappear so the spirits can erase us… I vowed for the spirits, said I would always follow their orders… but, allowing my world to be erased is something that wounds me deeply…" Every Avatar nodded, Aang continued. "The four Avatars who share a different existence promised to change the mind of the spirits, selecting each a pillar of salvation, Roku's pillar of Salvation was Zuko, Kioshy's one was the Earth Princess, Toph Bei Fong, mine, selfishly, was my granddaughter, since in this universe she exists, and in the other one she is yet to be determined to exist or not… Kuruk, different to us, you didn't chose Katara, the princess of the Water Tribe, as your pillar of salvation, but decided to use Sokka, the long lost prince to serve as a pillar, we, have never complained about your decision, but now, with the world dangerously coming to an end, why selecting a no bender as pillar of salvation?"

"If you pay attention to both realities, you will see the differences between the two Sokka's, one refuses to see light even in the darkest of times, but slowly understands there is always hope, and he is growing stronger to survive, that's the Sokka of the original source." The Avatar's remained in silence, Kuruk continued. "Our Sokka, was born in a far different situation, he was born in dark times and always saw the light, but after every event, the light fades, pushing our Sokka toward a different fate, while the one of the original source fights to find the light, the other one rarely sees the light and is surrounded by the shadow of doubt… however… both Sokka's have a same objective in common… survival…" Every Avatar was surprised by the revelation, Kuruk smiled. "The Sokka of the original source, is clumsy and weak, but his heart is strong and he is slowly evolving and becoming the warrior I know he is destined to be, our Sokka, was born a warrior, cold, selfish, but strong, he already surpasses the one of the original source in many ways, but there is something our Sokka lacks that the original one knows… hope… Sokka represents our existence, an entity with no hope… but he isn't giving up, he is fighting and training and wishing to become just like the Sokka of the original source… I believe he can make it, and if he can fight, if he can survive, will we allow the spirits to say different? That's why I selected him as one of our pillars of salvation; since both Sokka's, being different in many ways, have an objective in common, survival."

"Kuruk, as usual, you like to leave everything to luck, your actions may have brought us to fear the end of our existence… but your actions also… give us a little hope…" Every Avatar made a reverence toward Kuruk, the proud Avatar returned the reverence. "Brothers and sisters, our path is now clear, in order to help this world toward survival, we need to guide our pillars towards salvation and avoid the day of purification, we mustn't allow the genocide to take place, we must fight and stop it… do anything in our power to change the strings of fortune, and help our world into once again defying the future the spirits have planned for us, the Avatar's, will fight against the spirits, and seek for salvation!" Every Avatar returned to their stone, and Aang took his staff in both hands. "Kuruk, help me fulfill your dream."

* * *

Near the shore of the Patola Mountain range, and close to the Spike Pillars, a Fire Nation royal ship crossed the calm ocean, it was early in the morning and most of the crew was supposed to be sleeping, but instead, many were awake and witnessing an event they never thought they would see. Princess Azula woke up annoyed as she heard the many steps hitting the metal made floor at the top. She stormed out of her room, and ignoring the fact of still wearing her pajama, she made her way toward the bridge and yelled in annoyance. "What in Agni's name is going on here?" Everyone was startled by that last, but then Azula was as amazed as everyone else, just in front of her eyes, she saw the whole forest surrounding the Patola Mountain Range moving as if the trees were doing wave like movements. "A moving forest, there must be a logical explanation for this."

"Explanation? Yes, there is one explanation, but logical? It is not a logical explanation, princess Azula." Iroh said while drinking his tea and playing a Pai Sho game with some of the crew members who not long ago had interrupted it because of the event taking place. "Princess Azula, the information I'm about to reveal is confidential, but since us, your loyal elite, are witnessing these events, I have no choice but reveal what is going on."

"Well, then speak! The forest shouldn't move like this, unless something huge was strong enough as to force the trees to shake like this." Iroh sadly had to nod; his actions won Azula's attention. "Is it perhaps what I'm thinking it is? The mobilization of an army?" Everyone at the ship lost their breath; apparently, no one was aware of there being a plot against the Air Nomads. "What is my father thinking?"

"It wasn't your father, it was Zhao, the general had being plotting this for a long time, even without your father's permission, I hoped my brother wouldn't allow it, I thought perhaps he would stop this madness, but he never did, the entire contrary, he approved it." Iroh stood up and walked toward one of the corners of the ship, having a better view of the incident. "It happened a year after the civil war exploded, the six war advisors were called once again to the Fire Lord's chamber… there, we decided what to do next…"

* * *

"I'm sick of this civil war!" Yelled Ozai in annoyance while burning everything his firebending could find. "Those rebels, they think they can take my capital! But I will prove them wrong, I will exterminate them, I will hunt them and kill them all, even if that means burning the whole capital in order to find them!"

"Brother, this crisis won't be solved with violence, what we need to do is plan a negotiation with the leader of the rebel army." Ozai turned around and faced his brother in annoyance, Iroh, defying his brother, stood up and continued. "Master Yu, the leader of the rebellion, is an honest man, we have fought him countless times and somehow he always finds a way to be victorious, but I know he would do anything to protect the people following him, otherwise, they would have already taken the castle, their numbers are greater than ours now, if we negotiate their freedom, everything can be forgotten."

"Forgotten? Are you listening to yourself you tea bag? Look at our precious capital! It is in ruins! The conflict is already out of control! Slaves and rebels joining forces trying to push me away from the throne! I won't tolerate such insubordination! I will crush them!" Ozai's madness blinded his judgment once again, and from being the usual all mighty Fire Lord, everyone could see he was falling to madness.

"Lord Ozai, if I may speak, I may have the solution to all your problems." Zhao stood up weakly since his body wasn't still entirely healed after a year of being wounded badly by the now dead Jet. "The capital of our nation is lost, the best we can do is to seal it from the rest of the nation and keep the slaves trapped and distracted instead of mobilizing our secret militia and erase them." Ozai disliked the idea of sealing the capital, for a year he had stayed defiant and against all odds, doing everything he could to stop the civil war. "This war can be turned into an advantage for expansion and repatriation, the King of the Earth Kingdom recently grew ill, and Long Feng, our trusted insider, opened the Earth Kingdom to us, in other words, we have free access to their kingdom, and to the Air Nomads."

"Zhao, your constant planning and plotting is already tiring me… you have failed me more times than I should have tolerated, you should be punished, you should be banished! But only for one last time, I will allow you to speak, pick your words wisely, because if you don't, I will personally burn you until there is nothing left of you!" Zhao smiled, not that he wasn't scared of the Fire Lord, but because he knew that when Ozai lost his temper, he was a person who could be controlled.

"My lord, we could use the civil war as a distraction to keep the eyes of the world centered in the capital while the rest of the Fire Nation continues to grow, or secret army is ready, the doors to the Earth Kingdom opened, we have everything we need, in a year we could have the power we need to both, stop the civil war and start our world conquer." Ozai, to Iroh's dislike, stared at Zhao with interest. "With everyone talking about the civil war, they won't notice our army traveling slowly to the Earth Kingdom with the help of Long Feng, and when the time comes; we mobilize the army toward the Air Temples, conquering them in the process, and as we do, we release the Dragon Hounds at the capital of our nation, and burn the whole capital to ashes, killing any rebel and recovering the capital." Iroh was speechless, so were everyone else. "With both, the capital, and the Southern Air Temple conquered, we continue with an open war toward the temples, one by one, the temples will fall, and our army will slowly make it to the Northern Air Temple, we set camp there, and aim to the destruction of the North Pole."

"And with the pole destroyed, and our base at the Northern Air Temple." Ozai smiled, Iroh moved his head in negation. "The Water Tribe will be erased from existence, no more airbenders, no more waterbenders, only Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom… and once everything is ready, once the stupid insider takes the throne after Lao's passing away, we will have the Earth Kingdom surrounded, North, South, East, and West, four different points, four different Air Temples, all of them with our armies ready, we then launch a total war from the four different directions, and conquer the Earth Kingdom, it's brilliant!" An evil laughter then left Ozai's chest, he could almost taste victory, Iroh remained in silence, there was no way he could actually change Ozai's mind.

* * *

"…Total war…?" Azula was speechless, so were all her servants and Elite Fire Nation soldiers. "It's brilliant… the whole world would fall to the Fire Nation… the world would be rebuilt, everyone would be Fire Nation… no slaves, no dirty bloods, no Water Tribe savages, no stupid Air Nomads, no more first world Earth Kingdom royals!" Azula yelled happily, but then she felt something, despite it being her dream since she was young, she disliked this. "…It…" She began, lowering her face and then turning toward her uncle. "…It's madness…" Iroh hugged her, he was proud of her. "How can father even think about it?"

"Your father always thought Fire Nation was everything that mattered, he planned many things to gain power, but never something like this, Azula, do you understand now? Your father must be stopped." Azula faced Iroh; the old and former general faced the forest. "This trip, was never to find Zuko, it was to save the world from war, Zuko was both an excuse and a part of the solution, this ship is full with only loyal members who seek for nothing but the welfare of their nation… they will obey your every command… whether it is war… or something else…" Azula turned around trying to think about what to do, the whole time staring at the moving forest, seeing how something inside moved toward the Southern Air Temple.

* * *

"Now that's what I call a mobilization army… who may have guessed that old tea bag was telling the truth? Our kingdom is now nothing more but an ally of the Fire Nation." June mentioned while on top of her pet, the weak Rough Rhinos were by her side and awaiting their orders. "This surely complicates it all, I was right to ask for double payment, but perhaps triple would be even fairer."

"Boss, with the Fire Nation in the middle of an attack toward the Air Temples, we can't try to capture the princess of the Earth Kingdom, not only that, but we are now branded as traitors to the Fire Nation, what is what we should do now?" June rubbed her chin while analyzing the situation, she then noticed a lone monk walking around the mountain and toward a stable. "Isn't that monk Afiko?"

"Indeed, our little insider and informant, what could that bad monk be planning?" She said while taking a telescope and being witness of how Afiko used his bending powers to knock unconscious many monks around the stable, Afiko then walked toward the animals and released them all. "I knew that monk was different, after all, not many monks sell the information about the current location of the Earth Princess for 100 gold pieces, gentlemen, I believe our mission needs to be interrupted for the time being, the princess may still be in Air Nomads territories, but with you branded, and the temple about to be the target of an attack, all we can do is wait."

"But, lady June!" The Colonel began. "If the Fire Nation attacks the temple and they find the Earth Princess, they will take her hostage! And then they will take her to the Fire Lord! If that happens, the interests of our client will be interrupted; our mission would have ended in failure!" June nodded, but she then took a bone lance from one of the many bags around her Shrisu. "What is this?"

"A Bone lance, an artifact from the warriors of the Southern Water Tribe, you people don't need to know the real nature of the mission, you are only my employees, but this bone lance belongs to a great warrior, one who defeated me at the dessert of the Earth Kingdom and prevented me from capturing the Water Tribe Prince." The Colonel nodded, June then rubbed her Shirsu. "My beautiful pet detected the odor in it, and guided us here, the princess, the prince, the warrior owner of this bone lance and their companions are all inside of that temple, and as long as they are close to the princess, she won't be captured, I know, because I witnessed their abilities first hand." June then climbed down her Shrisu and took some bags from her; she then threw it to the colonel. "We will set up camp here and wait until the army retreats for reinforcements or conquers the temple, whatever happens we can work with, since they aren't officially at the Earth Kingdom yet, I can't do anything, and since you were branded traitors, you can't either, we will just follow the group once all this is over toward any destination they take." Her companions all nodded, then they began setting up camp. "I have this feeling, that right now, I'm being the witness of a huge historical event… way better than learning it at school." She said while facing the forest and seeing the many tanks being mobilized toward the temples, June was amazed by their design, and couldn't wait to see them in action.

* * *

Ty Lee opened her eye weakly, her body was aching entirely and she had little knowledge about her current situation, her eye fixed the focus and she noticed she was inside of some kind of metal made room. The place was a boiler room; she had seen boiler rooms only a few times in the past, one being back at the circus, inside a room where all the special effects were planned. Being inside of one again was a surprise, but a bigger surprise was to see the only window the boiler room had was a small one allowing her to see the forest outside, her first thought was that perhaps the forest was moving, but she quickly noticed it was the whole room the one moving. "What is going on here?" She yelled scared, but she then felt a combination of wood and skin hitting her face and covering her mouth, she blinked twice and saw the old man who the Fire Nation captured just yesterday.

"Lady, you should keep your voice down, we are prisoners, if the Fire Nation hears us complaining then we are all doomed." Ty Lee then rolled her eye in many directions, noticing the room was full with many Air Nomads and Earth Kingdom prisoners. "If we want to stay alive, we have no choice but obey."

"Obey?" Ty Lee then noticed she was the only prisoner chained to the wall; all the others were free from anything tying them but still trapped inside of the boiler room like prison. "What is this place? And why are we moving? This makes no sense at all."

"It's a machine, it works with coal and fire and does things humans and animals are unable to do, for example, this machine is a transport caravan, the coal produces stream, and the stream moves around the hot tubes around the place and forces the gears to move, the gears are connected to the wheels, moving the machine without the need of Ostrich-Horses to pull them." Ty Lee blinked twice, she had no idea of what the person was talking about, he breathed out in defeat and explained again. "It's a full metal made box that moves because of fire."

"A moving metal made box?" The man nodded, Ty Lee then heard the sound of a falling tree and faced the small window, she then saw many of those metal made boxes, looking more like Fire Nation war tanks, traveling around the forest and forcing the trees aside. "Wait…if this place is big enough for this many prisoners… then inside all those things… no way, so many soldiers?"

"They are going to attack the temples, the four of them." Ty Lee faced the young boy who moved around the floor unable to move his legs, Ty Lee's eye watered at the view. "We should do something, we can't allow them to attack the temples, the Air Nomads are good people! They don't deserve this!"

"Aw! You are just so cute and huggable!" Spoke Ty Lee out with a teary eye, but she quickly moved her head shaking all the hugging ideas away. "But you are also right! We can't allow it to happen, if only I could free myself!" She fought the shackles and chains tying her to the wall with no luck. "Aw! It hurts doing any effort! Can anyone give me a hand?" No one said anything, they all remained in silence. "Come on! We must do something!"

"I'm sorry, we don't want to risk our lives, and even if we wanted, we can't help you, these chains are too strong for us to break, there is no earth for the earthbenders to bend and Air Nomads aren't strong enough as to use their wind against steal." Ty Lee nodded in defeat. "We wish we could save the nomads, but it is impossible." Ty Lee looked around and out of the window, she then smiled.

"I need someone to help me whistle!" She said happily, everyone directed odd stares at her. "Don't look at me like that, I know it sounds nasty but I can't put my fingers in my mouth, I need a hand here." Teo asked his father to help him up, and once he did, the young boy offered his help. "Ow! Aren't you such a sweetheart?" Teo blushed but helped Ty Lee by placing his fingers inside of her mouth, she then blew and whistled hard, and soon after the sound was released, the cry of a hawk was heard. "It worked! Over here Hawky!" The hawk entered from the window and flew toward Ty Lee, landing on her shoulder and rubbing itself against her. "Good hawk! Good Hawk! Who is a pretty hawk? Who is a pretty hawk?" She yelled happily, everyone tried to shut her up, but it was too late, the door toward the prisoner's room was opened, revealing a group of elite soldiers. "Hawky! The keys!" The hawk cried hard and flew toward the face of one of the soldiers, scratching him and forcing him to fall on top of the other two soldiers, Hawky then pulled the keys from the Fire Nation soldier's tunic and flew toward Ty Lee. "Someone release me!"

The old man stared at his son, the boy stared back at him with concern, it was a difficult situation, the Fire Nation soldiers stood up and Hawky resumed the attack while allowing the keys to hit the floor hard. "I hope I don't end regretting this." His son then smiled as he saw the man releasing the girl from her chains, she quickly whistled asking the hawk to retreat so she could throw herself into battle, she placed her fingers in position, and every prisoner had no choice but cover their eyes and witness how the girl defeated every Fire Nation soldier she could find, Ty Lee was, after all, a one girl's army. "Ok, maybe I don't regret it, but even she can't beat the whole army on her own."

"That's true, I can't." Spoke Ty Lee out while picking her bow and arrows up once she had defeated everyone inside of the still moving tank, she then opened her bag and took one of the packaged with raw meat inside, she devoured it fast, disgusting everyone witnessing it. "Not even with a full stomach… sorry about that, I had nothing for dinner… anyway, I can't do this alone, if you people want to save the Air Nomads then I need your help." She then took the helmet of one of the soldiers off and placed it on. "You, Mr. Mechanist, I need someone to help me drive this thing, you seem to know about these stuff so you come with me, everyone else, take an armor and place it on, we are going to play infiltrates, after dressing, tie these soldiers and lock them at the boiler room, now hurry, we have an Air Temple to save." Despite not wanting to help her, every prisoner did as they were told to do, they all got dressed in Fire Nation uniforms and locked the soldiers, and they then all prepared for a battle.

* * *

"Sokka!" Yelled Toph hard while storming inside of Sokka's room, the Water Tribe prince woke up and stood up startled while keeping his sword in hand, his long hair, released from his wolf tail, covered his face and blurred his vision, but he didn't need eyes to know the voice of the girl now breathing heavily by his door. "The birds, the animals, the whole forest is in silence, but there is a lot of movement, I felt it when I went down the mountain for meditation! Something is coming, something dangerous; it feels like a moving avalanche!" Sokka moved his hair away from his face and ran in search of a window; he then noticed the odd movements of the forest. "What is going on?"

"I'm not sure, but there is no animal at the Patola Mountain Range that can move the forest like that, not even Saber-Toothed-Moose-Lions, they never travel in groups." Sokka then placed his armor on and took his weapons in hand. "Anyone else knows about this?" He said while running out of the room followed by the blind girl.

"I told Monk Pasang about it! And Yún was with me when we went meditating!" Sokka then took his hand telescope out once arriving at the outsides of the temple, he then tried to adjust it to have a better look at the moving forest, he then saw them, several tanks from the Fire Nation moving around the forest and about to start climbing the mountain range by launching some harpoons with chains tied at their lower sections, the tanks then began climbing while using the chains to pull themselves up. "They are climbing the mountain!" She said while pointing at her feet. "I can feel them climbing even up here! The whole mountain is shaking!"

"Then that means it is a whole army, perhaps a hundred of these things, this is madness, who would do such a thing?" Sokka then saw the emblem of the Fire Nation printed at the top of one of the black colored tanks. "Fire Nation? It can't be, their war is against the Water Tribe, why attacking the temples?"

"It seems like the Fire Nation no longer things the Water Tribe is their only enemy." Sokka turned around to face Bato; he, Suki, and many other members of the Air Nomads, were there to witness the now not so silent march of the Fire Nation tanks toward their temple. "As I told you, Sokka, this war would have erupted with or without your intervention, only now you are in the middle of it, we most flee while we can, the temples won't last long against such an attack."

"I can't just leave the nomads all alone while they are being attacked by the Fire Nation! Not without knowing their motives first, there must be a reason behind such behavior." The shaking grew stronger, and more and more monks arrived. "We most fight! The temple is well built, it won't fall easily, and with the help of the nomads the invasion army won't last long."

"Sokka! They are monks! They would never take the path of violence!" Yelled Toph with concern, it hadn't being a long while the one she had spent with the monks, but even she realized the life style of the monks was based in adoration toward the spirits and never used violence, not even when their lives were at peril. "I want to fight, I want to protect the monks, but it is useless if they won't defend themselves, we can't win with our numbers."

"That's true, we are awfully handicapped." Sokka stared at the many monks, between them there was Yún, staring at him with a look full with determination. "Still, there is no way I will stay arm crossed! Yún!" The girl made her way around the crowd and stood in front of Sokka. "Monks won't fight, or at least not all monks will, I understand that, but your people surely thought of a way to escape conflict."

"We did but, I'm not sure if I wish to take that course of action, the four temples are sacred, and the spirits frequent them, there is a reason for their location, abandoning the temples and leaving them under the control of a foreign army would anger the spirits, it is a risk we can't take!" She spoke with determination; Sokka then faced the forest and pointed at it.

"Do you see that? It's an army full with Fire Nation soldiers, an army that is currently climbing this mountain even when it was said that the only way of doing it so was on top of a Flying Bison, that army found a way to climb this mountain, doing such a thing doesn't mean they want to play Pai Sho, it's an invasion force! One that had been investigating how to defeat your people." He said while pointing at Yún, the girl bit her lips in annoyance. "I know how it is like to vow your life to the spirits, my mother used to say I was blessed since the day of my birth by the spirits, but I'm not going to allow the spirits to tell me what to do." Those words began haunting Yún's mind, for a long while, she had been acting against the laws of the spirits, she defied them more than once and was punished by her sins, giving up now would mean the spirits won and were able to scare her.

"There aren't enough Flying Bisons to escape the temple, but, there is another way for the monks to escape, only that if we are discovered, the invasion army will have free access to every temple within a couple of days of uninterrupted walking." Yún began, every monk around the place exchanged looks, even Monk Pasang had no idea of what Yún was talking about. "My grandfather told me, that one day I might need this escaping route, that's why he taught me about a secret passage, a chain of tunnels that connect the four temples, tunnels he created with the help of King Bummy in fear of the war between the Fire Nation and the Water Tribe reaching our temples."

"That's great! Then ask your people to escape toward the other temples and tell the monks there to evacuate their homes, if you won't fight, at least you can try and hide around the Earth Kingdom." Yún moved her head in negation; Sokka stared at her with curiosity.

"I can't ask my people to do that, if we are to use the tunnels they need a guide, one that knows the way, and only Avatar Aang and I know the way, I wish to stay and fight, but I need to guide my people, also, since the tunnels are too big, I can't take large numbers, I need time to lead them all away, time we don't have." She stared at Sokka with concern, she was wise in many subjects, but when it meant battles and war, she had no idea of what to do.

"You said you need two days of uninterrupted walking to reach one of the temples?" Yún nodded, Sokka then stared at the monks. "How many monks are there? And how many can you take at a time?"

"Including me and the members of the Monk's Council, we are around 170 monks, and I can only take 50 at a time." Sokka nodded, he then ran toward the stable where the flying bisons rested, he began counting them. "The bisons will be of no help, we only have twelve, and they can only carry 5 monks at a time, they won't make it back in time for the invasion to take place!"

"We won't use the bisons for transportation; we will need them here for the final evacuation if needed." Yún blinked twice, Sokka smiled. "Just listen to the war tactical officer and everything will be fine." He said while pointing to himself. "We will transport all the monks we can around the tunnels, and keep the Fire Nation busy here, you need 3 trips to help at least 150 monks toward safety, all others will escape with the flying bisons once the last party is heading out and toward the temple, that means I need warriors, people who will fight not to defeat the Fire Nation but to win some time."

"Then I will lead them to battle and help you win some time." Spoke Monk Pasang with a calm tone of voice, surprising every monk there. "We monks dislike violence, but we also dislike war, if protecting our way of life means to fight, even if it is for the sole purpose of survival, then I will accept the sin of selfishness, since I will fight to save my people, every monk sharing the same ideal as I please come to me." Many monks did walk toward Pasang, many others just walked away disliking the idea of abandoning their way of life. "Then it's all ready, Yún, lead those who aren't willing to fight toward the other temples, we will wait for your safe return here." The girl then nodded, she then selected 50 of the youngest monks and lead them around the temple and toward the chamber of the statues of the Avatar, where the secret passage was at.

"You will be needing a second guide if you want to evacuate this place in time." Yún smiled while running with her 50 monks toward the chamber, but she never interrupted her running since there was no time to lose, Avatar Aang, the one who spoke to her and Pasang while they all began doing their preparations for the battle, approached to Sokka and stared at him with interest. "You were blessed by the spirit of Kuruk, to be the pillar of our salvation, even if that means standing against the spirits, it is their fault for not trusting in us humans, Sokka, son of Kaya and Hadoka, people who gave up on everything to save their people, please allow me to help you in your mission, Sokka, son of Kuruk."

"With all respect, Avatar Aang, I would rather not being called the son of Kuruk, for a long time I thought of Kuruk as a great warrior and an example to follow, but not anymore, my blood belongs to my mother and father." Aang placed his skinny hand on top of Sokka's head and moved his head in negation while smiling. "Avatar Aang?"

"He who you now hate, was once a great warrior and the example you wished him to be, now, more than 400 years after his dead, Avatar Kuruk is suffering because of his sins, his suffering gave us, the avatars, hope." Sokka was never able to understand Aang's words, but he nodded anyway. "Son of Kuruk and daughter of Kyoshi, in your blood the key to our salvation remains, never forget your heritage, since your roots hold the answers you both need."

"Yeah, whatever, we have Fire Nation soldier's butts to kick! As we speak, they are approaching, at this rate we won't be able to evacuate the temple before their arrival!" Toph complained despite being Avatar Aang the one standing in front of her, Sokka nodded at her words.

"With Avatar Aang leading a second group around the tunnels, we can evacuate the temple in only 3 days, but we still need to think about a way to stop the Fire Nation for 3 days, monk Pasang, any suggestions?" The monk closed his eyes and tried to think about a solution, finding none he placed his hands in praying position. "This is not the time for praying."

"Members of the monk council, please join us in the planning of our strategy against our brothers of the Fire Nation who wish to harm us… in order to free our brothers, we need to fight, having an strategy to follow is needed." 3 of the members of the Monk's Council approached, however, Sokka noticed one was missing.

"Wait, weren't there five the members of the Monk's Council? I think Afiko is missing." Every monk around the place searched for the mentioned monk, only the old but youngest member of the Monk's Council was nowhere to be found.

"He isn't here, I didn't feel his vibrations before and I don't feel them now, and apart of the monks traveling with Yún, and the ones now joining Avatar Aang while traveling toward the tunnels, there is no one else in the temple but Eelen at the stables… wait, I don't feel Eelen's vibrations at the stable!" Sokka's eyes widened, he then took his telescope out once again and faced the Patola Mountain Range, by the road he saw his Eel-Hound running toward the direction of the moving forest, Afiko was riding her despite Eelen's efforts of shaking the old monk off.

"That stupid Monk stole my Eel-Hound! Not only that! He is traveling toward the invasion army! He will pay for this!" Sokka took his sword out, he then pointed toward the monks. "This is the plan, Toph, Suki, Bato and I will take 10 monks with us to drive a diversion and cut the harpoons, Pasang, I hope I'm not being offensive while giving you orders, but I need you to get your troops ready for battle, create barricades, throw some stuff at them, whatever helps you slow them down when they come close enough."

"But Sokka, monks have no materialism interests, there is nothing they can use to create a barricade, all that they will find here are fruits." Toph mentioned while touching the floor with her hand and reading the movement of the army. "How can they defend with only those slimy and icky fruits against tanks and fire throwing monsters?"

"Slimy and icky?" Sokka began; he then smiled having an idea. "Is there a juicy and sticky fruit around here? One that we can use to stick things together?" Toph made a mockery as reflecting annoyance but nodded. "Monk Pasang, this may sound crazy, but how about you ask your monks to make some sticky juice? Just in case those things come close enough, that would surely stick their intentions down."

"A clever idea, not bad, fighting without violence, I like how that sounds." Sokka smiled, he then took Toph's hands and drove her away from the temple. "You all heard Brother Sokka! Get some fruits, make some juice! We will show our Fire Nation brothers some Air Nomad hospitality!" The monks yelled happily and then ran all around the temple, they selected many fruits from the green fields around the temple and took them to the middle of the flying bisons landing path, where they placed various pots and began smashing the fruits that ended stuck to their hands, reflecting their sticky properties. "Very clever idea indeed, Toph, if there is someone who can help you fulfill your mission; I think it's safe to say it is that boy."

* * *

Riding toward the Fire Nation tanks were monk Afiko and Eelen, who still tried hard to force Afiko down of her, the monk, however, was strong despite his age and managed to stay on top of the furious Eel-Hound, cutting all her intentions of getting rid of the monk. "Stupid creature, obey me already, there is no time to waste, I must join forces with the general!" Eelen was then guided toward a red tank that was bigger than the others, the door was opened, revealing Mai, the leader of the invasion forces, she moved her head asking Afiko to jump inside, and once that was done, Eelen was finally free and the animal ran toward the forest and escaped from the place. "General Mai, it is a pleasure to see you, thanks to your help, the Monk's Council will be eradicated, and a new order of peace will begin, that of course means that I, as the future Supreme Monk, will offer my guidance to your people, and help them find illumination."

"Oh yes, now I remember our deal, Monk Afiko, we promised to help you claim the leadership of the Air Nomads in exchange of your aid in telling us how to climb the mountain." The monk nodded happily while Mai kept talking, the girl then took a sharp object from her tunic and began cleaning it. "With you in charge of the four temples, the Fire Nation would finally recognize the Air Nomads as a civilization, giving your 'Church'" She said while moving her fingers as not believing in the nomad's religion. "Power to be accepted as an independent territory, only that independence would be exploited by the Fire Nation, allowing your nomads to live with us, Fire Nation, and giving us control of your territories all around the Earth Kingdom… all in the name of religion…"

"Using war to unify the world into a unique religion, Lady Mai, I will always be in your depth for understanding my reasons, with all the four nations praying for the same spirits, and all the civilizations as one, there will be no war, only an unique empire with an only religion! Lady Mai, there is no way I can express my gratitude to you, be blessed by the spirits Lady Mai!" The girl then turned around and threw a knife toward Afiko, the knife was then pressed against his throat, only it was perfectly aimed in order not to kill the monk. "…Lady… Mai… what is the meaning of this… my lady…? Have I said anything to anger you… aght…"

"How about speaking about your horrible religion to me…? In case you haven't noticed, I'm a sinner, and if your religion is correct, and mine was always wrong… then it means what awaits for me when I die is eternal suffering…" Mai said while taking another knife out and cleaning it. "We aren't here to question the existence of the spirits… they do exist, you, the monks, are the living proof of it… but, pushing the world into accepting an only religion? Don't make me laugh." She said while sending another knife flying, this one stabbed Afiko's hand.

"Gaght! Lady Mai… why are you doing this…? For many years I was your humble servant! I told you all our secrets… I helped you create these machines… please, lady Mai!" The woman then took another knife out, she then licked it and stared at Afiko with hatred. "Lady Mai, this behavior won't be tolerated by our spirits!"

"You mean your spirits, my religion is a different one, and I was never planning on changing religions… one of our gods is Agni, and during the days our god walked through our lands, he asked for blood to be pleased, the Fire Nation sees Agni as a supreme god, we don't care about your gods, or your religions… I actually never cared about religion itself… but it was my only salvation when everyone abandoned me…" She said while lowering her face, Afiko just tried to take the knife from his hand out. "All my childhood… spirits were something I never cared about, my only propose was to serve Azula, and if she believed, I believed, then everyone left me, my best friend went missing, the person I loved was banished and killed, and my princess abandoned the Fire Nation… I was alone, my only refugee suddenly was religion, without my friends, loved ones and family, there was no reason for me to live, that was until I was saved, Ozai told me religion was the way, and I vowed my life to Agni, my god demands blood, Afiko, my intention was never to accept your religion, it was to destroy it, and I will die the walls of your sacred temples with blood, and place an altar of my god, Agni, and another one honoring my Fire Lord Ozai!"

"Then that means! You lied to me!" Akifo said once pulling the knife from his hand; he then began coughing blood because of Mai's first attack toward his throat. "I helped you… because I only… wanted what was best for my people… you horrible woman… you traitor… you monster!"

"Tell me, Afiko… if you die now? Do you think your gods will care for your soul?" Afiko nodded while pressing his neck trying to prevent the blood from falling. "Is that so…? Because, you claimed you didn't care if many died for your propose… you lead our army here… then you cursed… and then you broke the materialism rule, when you sold the information about the whereabouts of the Earth Princess to that mercenary… you really thought I wasn't going to find it all out?" Afiko's eyes widened, without noticing it, he became not only a sinner, but a great one. "You won't be alive to witness it either, but the souls of many will be sacrificed because of your actions… I believe, you are a sinner, and a great one… now, what if I told you… that your sins would be accepted by Agni? Since all you have done, pleases him greatly?"

"Please! Lady Mai…" He began and then coughed more blood. "…Spare my life…" He continued coughing. "I will bow to your god Agni; I will be his humble servant…" He coughed even more. "Please, tell your god to clean my soul!"

"How annoying…" Mai began, Afiko cried in fear of what could happen. "Just now, you admitted you can't even believe in your own god, all because of fear… if you were Fire Nation… you could have been a great follower of our church." Afiko smiled, Mai did the same. "But… you aren't Fire Nation, and our god Agni only accepts Fire Nation, I guess all that is left for you is to die, and allow your soul to be lost, since after this, not even your gods will claim your soul."

"Wait! Lady Mai! Please don't! Allow me to clean my sins!" But Mai pressed her sword against Afiko's chest, bringing an end to his life; she then ordered her soldiers to open the metal made door and threw his body out of the tank.

"Religion… can be such a wonderful thing… but also, something to fear… Afiko, your soul will always be lost in the nothing… just as the soul of everyone who doesn't believe in our god Akni… general." The man gave Mai a Fire Nation vowing. "You will be in charge of the invasion now, when I opened the door I saw someone moving around the mountain, I will chase them and end their lives in honor of the glory of the Fire Lord and our god, you have your orders." The General nodded, Mai then began licking the blood of her sword, ever since finding her supposed religion, she lost all sense of humanity. "You ruined my life, Sokka, today, I will end yours."

* * *

"Ok, I'm proud of all you, my Fire Nation soldiers! You do look like an elite group of warriors!" Ty Lee yelled happily while staring at the group of prisoners, all of them now wearing Fire Nation armor, although they looked nowhere near soldier like, most of the prisoners were monks, or farmers of the Earth Kingdom, categorizing them as warriors was something hard to believe. "I'm trying to give you guys some enthusiastic words, you people aren't helping at all you know."

"Big sister Ty Lee, we aren't warriors, all we can do is wear this armors to hide, even if you wish for us to fight, the truth is we will only get in your way." Teo spoke out with sadness; Ty Lee stared at him with a teary eye. "Sister Ty Lee?"

"Aw! Will you ever quit being so cute! You even called me sister, I think I need a new eye patch, mine is all wet now! This is so beautiful!" She said while strangling the boy with a hug, Hawky pocked her head winning her attention. "Oh, that's right, we are in the middle of a battle preparation… listen guys, I know you aren't warriors, but innocent monks up there will die if we do nothing to help them, I'm not asking you to fight by my side, but at least give me a place to hide if this turns out to be more than I can handle, I at least need to know I count with your assistance if that is to happen." Everyone exchanged looks, Ty Lee's eyes watered while she placed her hands in prying position and stared at Teo directly. "Please? Do it for big sister? Come on little brother, you wouldn't like to see big sister cry, would you?"

"Eh? Fine, fine, we will give you refugee if needed." Ty Lee then hugged Teo, and after a minute, made a reverence toward everyone and ran toward the door, kicking it open and then placing a mark at the tank using some berries she collected for Hawky the night before, once that was done, she jumped off of the tank and toward the one next to it. "Please be careful, Big sister Ty Lee."

"Wah! It's slippery!" She yelled while trying to hold to the tank she jumped toward to, she even had to rely on Hawky's help to find the propping grab to prevent herself from falling. "Fine, this was probably not the best idea I ever had." She said while knocking the metal door of the tank and waiting, Hawky just stared at her oddly. "Don't give me that face, I'm thinking while working on it, it's not like I have the brains to think about a complex plan as Sokka does." The door of the tank was then opened, and a hand in fire bending position was pointed toward the eye patched girl. "Hi, fellow Fire Nation friend! Mind if I join you? I was kicked from the neighbor tank; they said I was too noisy!" She said while smiling, the Fire Nation soldier just raised an eyebrow and then bit his lips in surprise when noticing the girl was barely holding to the tank with her fingers. "Please, this is an uncomfortable situation."

"This is ridiculous! How could you get yourself kicked from your peloton?" The soldier questioned her but helped her inside. "Guys, look at this, this girl was clinging to the tank and says she was kicked from the tank she was at? Can you imagine it? I knew Zoal Ten was a tyrant general, but this is madness." Every Fire Nation soldier nodded, Ty Lee just smiled oddly. "Lady, stay with us, we will conquer the Air Nomads in no time!"

"Actually, I was never expecting my plan was going to work, but since you were so cute and helped me inside, I will put you to sleep gently." She said while placing her hand at his shoulder and pressing it, forcing the soldier to fall asleep and with all his body paralyzed. "Sadly, the rest of you won't have that luck! Hawky, attack!" The hawk obeyed and flew toward a soldier, attacking his face and then flying toward the other one, Ty Lee placed her fingers in Chi Blocking pose and then paralyzed everyone in the tank, the driver included, which forced the tank to stop. "I need to rethink my plans!" She said while releasing the prisoners and untying them, she then used the ropes they were tied with to tie the soldiers and lock them. "No time to explain, stay inside of the tank, and leave only when no one sees you, I will go ahead and stop another one, stay safe and take care!" Ty Lee then jumped off of the tank, leaving many former prisoners puzzled, she then ran toward a tank that was close to them and waved her hand to them, it stopped when the driver saw the immobile tank in front of them and opened the door. "Sorry to be a bother! We had some troubles with the… unmm… tube that makes vapor and helps this thing move… how did the mechanist call it…? Engine! Can someone please come and help us? We have no idea of how this thing works… really, we don't"

"We were all taught how to fix these things for this day! Don't tell me you skipped the class you lazy girl! I knew women weren't suited to be soldiers!" Ty Lee stared at the soldier with rage, she then smiled when remembering his face, it was General Poon, now a former general due to his past mistakes, for example, the escape of Master Yu and Sokka while he was supposed to be guarding them. "Girls think they can do anything, this job is for man alone! Wait, I know you, aren't you that girl who was Princess Azula's friend?"

"Yep, that's me, too bad you found out, sweet dreams!" She jumped and kicked Poon's face, knocking him unconscious. "Now, who else wants to be kicked unconscious?" All the soldiers ran to her, she then battled them all, paralyzing them and forcing yet another tank to be useless." Moments later, and after releasing the prisoners and tying the soldiers, she jumped her way back to the tank she marked with the berries; Teo helped her inside as she weakly gasped for air. "I ran out of excuses and energy." She stood up and opened the door where the Fire Nation soldiers were trapped at; she then picked one up and questioned him. "How many tanks are there heading to the temple? How many soldiers you got?" The soldier, despite being tied, just laughed. "Answer me or I will paralyze you somewhere you will wish you were never paralyzed."

"Fine, I will speak! There are a total of 72 tanks and the imperial tank of lady Mai! Each tank has 50 soldiers inside, all of them benders, that's all I know, please don't paralyze my…" But before the man could end his phrase, Ty Lee paralyzed his shoulder and forced him to sleep.

"72 tanks and an imperial one? That means I still need to attack 70 more! This is crazy! I'm already tired and I have only attacked 3 tanks! Aw! I wish Toph and Sokka were here! They surely would have a better plan that mine!" She yelled while throwing herself toward the floor. "Great job Ty Lee… ranked third in Urza's college for genius girls, but unable to stop a war using your brains, I miss Sokka!" She said while pulling her hair hard. "I can't give up now! If the army reaches the temples then the monks are doomed! Hawky, let's do our best!" The hawk nodded, Ty Lee then jumped toward a different tank.

* * *

"Sokka, you won't believe this, but I think I see a Fire Nation soldier jumping from a tank to another one, the tank the soldier enters then stops." Bato told Sokka while using Sokka's telescope to analyze the situation of the invasion force, Toph placed her hand and feet at the soft grass and tried to read what was going on. "Can you feel the soldier, Toph?"

"Only barely, it moves too much and at a great speed… she is female… and she is carrying something small at her shoulder… it has its own heart rhythm… Ty Lee and Hawky!" Toph yelled out happily, Sokka then took the telescope from Bato's hands and used it to have a clearer view of Ty Lee, she was wearing a fire nation outfit, and as Toph and Bato had described, moved gracefully around and stopped every tank she entered. "Sokka, we need to go and help her!"

"Can't be done Toph, Ty Lee is attacking from the rear so she won't be discovered, that girl is smarter than she looks, but her plan won't work if she keeps fighting at that rhythm." He said as he saw how Ty Lee entered a tank with a mark at the door, the tank kept moving instead of stopping as the many tanks around the place. "I see twelve tanks… prisoners coming out of them and running toward the forest, that girl is smart, but it's only matter of time before she is discovered, also, she is stopping the ones left behind, reducing the numbers yes, but the units at the top already climbing the mountains are the ones we should be worrying about."

"Then how about we go and break their harpoons? If that is done they won't be able to climb the mountain, not with those things of course." Sokka nodded at Suki's words, the group then ran toward the section of the Patola mountain range where the harpoons were buried. "As a side effect of doing this, we will have the whole Fire Nation army attacking us!" Yelled Suki while jumping to the farthest part of the road where the last harpoons where.

"It's a risk we need to take, for the evacuation to end, we need to keep the Fire Nation busy for 3 days, it isn't something easy to do, especially if we think about our numbers going down with each trip." Said Bato while placing his bone lance down one harpoon and starting to unbury it.

"I will think about something, I always do, the important thing is keep them busy for now, we engage into the real battle later." Sokka readied his black sword, he then stared at Toph, the girl smiled and cracked her fingers. "Let's start the party Toph!"

"Aye, aye captain!" Toph then bended the metal of various harpoons, their chains were broken and the tanks fell down, Sokka, Suki and Bato also cut some chains with their weapons, only Toph was faster because of her metal bending. "I smell something burning!" She yelled, Sokka just pushed her head down and helped her avoid some fireballs. "I guess I should be thankful."

"Yeah, pretty much!" He said while avoiding the fire launched toward him, more and more harpoons were send toward the mountain, Toph managed to cut them all, but they kept coming and coming, the tanks were armed with various harpoons, and they were well build to avoid being damaged upon falling from such heights, something that couldn't be said for the people inside of each tank of course. "Man, they are very persistent; I don't even wanna imagine how it feels to fall from here." Sokka then avoided a sharp object, a silver dagger that was buried at the rocky terrain next to him. "Great, now we will have a childhood reunion." He said while facing a red tank various times bigger than the others, and on top of it, standing at the front while the tank pulled itself up, was Mai. "Toph, keep breaking the chains, Bato, Suki, keep her safe, I'm pushing the mobilization army leader down."

"But Sokka!" Toph began, Sokka stared at her and waited, Toph could feel it in her vibrations, the determination of Sokka as he pulled his sword out and got ready for a battle, although he was unable to say he would emerge victorious from. "Take care." She finally added, Sokka nodded.

"I still have a promise to keep!" Toph blushed while feeling the way Sokka touched his arm band, he then jumped down with his precious sword in hand and slashed, Mai took a sword out of her tunic and intercepted the attack. "Remember me?"

"How could I forget you, peasant boy? No, Water Tribe scum! It was you who ruined my life!" She said while trying to slash Sokka, who just kept dogging every attack by using Aikido to his advantage, whenever Sokka was under a lot of battle tension, his skills were pulled toward limits no one was able to comprehend, Mai included, who after several years of training still couldn't figure out how Sokka could outmatch her skills. "I will kill you for ruining my life! Now stay still and allow me to end your life for the glory of Fire Lord Ozai and the eternal life of our god Agni!"

"I never thought you were the religious type, good thing my tribe believes in spirits in general, so we may please the same god sometimes!" He said with a smile, failing to understand the real nature of Mai's god. "Mind if I do some slashing?" And then he slashed the 3 chains which tied the tank to the mountain, the huge royal tank then fell from the mountain, pushing another couple of tanks with it, and Mai and Sokka as well, pulling them both toward the forest, where the invasion forces still tried to climb their way to the top.


	19. Genocide, Part Two

**Slavery Mark: Book Two – Air.**

**Chapter Nine: Genocide, Part Two.**

* * *

"…Princess Azula…?" It all happened two years ago, just when the civil war was exploding, Mai woke up weakly and with half her body still paralyzed, she had no strength to move or do anything, but at the moment, it wasn't needed, since it was Azula the one carrying Mai's body around the Fire Nation Palace and toward the main hall. "Princess Azula… you are unharmed…? I'm glad… but where is peasant boy…"

"…Sokka…" Azula began, and with a shattering tone of voice. "I mean, the Water Tribe Savage…is gone… I let him get away…" Mai's eyes widened when she heard those words coming from Azula, they both then heard the sound of shattering wood and saw how the Blue Spirit fell from the second floor toward the first one and unconscious. "This place isn't safe yet, we must escape unnoticed, I don't feel like dying as yet another martyr in this pointless war." Azula added while carrying Mai outside of the castle moments before it began collapsing.

"Pointless war? Princess Azula, this war has more meaning than that; remember it is for the welfare of our nation and in order to eradicate the impure!" Azula then placed Mai down, and the once proud princess then stared at her castle in flames and then witnessed how it was destroyed and began falling apart. "Can you see it now? The castle is in flames, the symbol of power of our nation is being burned into ashes."

"…I see it…" Azula began once again and stared at the flames with interest. "I see the symbol of glory of the Fire Nation being consumed by fire itself… perhaps this is what they call a poetic justice." Mai couldn't believe what she was hearing, her princess, the one she swore to serve, was reflecting weakness. "…The Fire Nation finally gets what it deserves."

* * *

"No! Princess Azula, you are wrong!" Mai yelled while waking up from her dream, she then felt the soft drops of water hitting her skin and began analyzing her current situation, she was in the middle of the forest surrounding the Patola Mountain range, her last memory being the one of Sokka cutting the chains of her royal carriage and the both of them falling toward the deep forest, how much time had it passed since they fell was something hard to say since the heavy rain prevented her from knowing if it was still evening or if this was perhaps the morning of a new day. "Where in the hell are you hiding, peasant boy?"

"What? Eh?" Sokka woke up, he was on top of a half broken tree branch, upon waking up he began complaining about the pain at his ribs, he probably broke a couple when falling from the tank, he then faced the sky and smiled. "The morning of the second day, only two more days to go." Sokka said weakly and then tried to stand up at the branch only to end up breaking it and hitting the floor hard. "Ught! This isn't my day."

"Stupid peasant boy!" Sokka reacted to the voice and tried to stand up while using his black sword as support, he then saw Mai, blood was falling from her forehead and toward her face, only the falling drops slowly cleaned the blood away, apparently, she was just as wounded at Sokka, only her wounds were more evident because of the color of her skin. "You, are the reason of my hatred… you are the reason of this life I have… different from when battling Ty Lee, I have no reason to hold back against you… even if I'm wounded, and my body is barely useful, if I use my full potential then I can still kill you!" She yelled and took a silver sword from her tunic, she then slashed the air close to Sokka, the Water Tribe one jumped away but the slash was so perfect that the air that was cut managed to cut Sokka's cape.

"My cape!" He yelled while staring at the cut down section. "But she didn't even hit me… don't tell me she…" Sokka then stared at the blade and at the way Mai swung it, he then understood what had happened, using a fast movement and the almost perfect edge of the thin blade, Mai was able to do something Sokka's black sword couldn't, cut the air fast enough to give the wind a cutting edge property. "I need to get me one of those swords."

"I have a great variety of cutting objects in my tunic, only this sword is my most valuable one, given to me by Fire Lord Ozai himself, the name of this sword is Xue, it means blood, I think it has a nice ring to it." Sokka placed his sword in position, Mai did the same. "When battling Ty Lee a couple of days ago, I used many of my weapons, but left my precious sword hidden, since I promised I would use this sword for the first time to kill the traitor who stripped me of my princess, Sokka, the last thing you see upon dying, will be the distortion cause by my blade as your face is cut in half." Sokka flinched at the thought; Mai just pointed her sword toward him. "The only way you can save your life is by killing me!"

"Sorry, I don't kill before breakfast!" He joked, angering Mai, who slashed the air close to Sokka, the Water Tribe Prince placed his sword in the way but then noticed that despite blocking the hit, the clothes close to his chest were cut, he could also see some blood dirtying his tunic. "Somehow this doesn't look good." He said while falling to his knees due to the pain but keeping his sword pressed against the one of Mai.

"Block all you want, my blade will still cut you, since you can stop the object but not the wind it cuts." Mai slashed once again, Sokka moved away and lost his wolf tail, cut once again by the wind. "With each slash, I am closer to cutting you in half, Sokka, it will be a pleasure for me to sacrifice your life for the glory of my god, Agni!"

* * *

"The tanks stopped their march." Teo told Ty Lee as the girl remained unmoving, the tanks at the back where far from reaching the mountain's walls, and many others were no longer trying to climb the walls since there existed interference preventing them from climbing the launched harpoons, but there was no reason to stop the mobilization. "Big sister Ty Lee! Some soldiers are approaching the tanks close to us! It seems like they are counting the troops!"

"Teo! Be quiet, you heard Ty Lee, she spent the whole day stopping tank after tank, she consumed all her energy, there is no food close by and she have had no sleep, all she can do is stay still until she recovers some energy, sleeping isn't even an option, if she falls asleep, she won't wake up any time soon." Teo's father informed the boy, but Teo was still worried, more and more soldiers were approaching their tank, and there was no reaction from Ty Lee.

"But father! If those soldiers reach our tank we are all doomed! Big sister Ty Lee needs to wake up, otherwise we will all die!" Ty Lee then stood up weakly; the sleeping hawk by her side woke up once that was done. "Big sister Ty Lee!" The girl said nothing, she had no energy to even smile for the kid, she was tired and has had nothing to eat since she shared the raw meat she gathered with her companions, her tiredness was even evident in the bags surrounding her only useful eye. "She is in no condition to keep up… Sister Ty Lee?"

"…Hawky…" The hawk obeyed and tensed his feathers, just as if it was getting ready for battle, the door of their tank was then knocked, every former prisoner backed off and ran to the back of the tank. "…Move…" She commanded Teo and his father and then she took her bow out, there were no arrows, which at this moment would be very useful, she had wasted them all two nights ago when she battled 30 members of Mai's army on her own. "…Open the door…" She said with a shattering voice that sounded like if the girl was currently being the victim of madness, the door was then opened, a soldier then came inside.

"Where is General Zoal Ten?" The soldier asked and saw the weak Ty Lee holding her bow. "You are… that girl from two days ago! The one captured by Lady Mai!" Ty Lee swung her bow as a staff and hit the soldiers face, knocking him unconscious, more soldiers then came in; Hawky flew to them and scratched their eyes, giving Ty Lee enough time to hit them as well and knock them unconscious with only one hit.

"How can she have more energy left? There is nothing in her stomach, she have had no sleep! How can she do this father?" Teo's father stared at the girl as she jumped down the tank as if she was in full conditions to continue, many soldiers noticed her, but they saw the weak state of her body and approached to the girl with concern, she was wearing Fire Nation armor after all, once they were close enough, the girl breathed only once and then spun her bow and hit several soldiers and knocked them unconscious, some firebenders then tried to attack, but Hawky scratched their faces, Ty Lee breathed one more time and then ran to her attackers and knocked them down, she kept following that movement pattern all the time.

"Anapanasati!" Teo's father yelled in surprise, Teo then tried to move close to his father by using his arms to pull himself toward him and then pulled his clothes trying to win his attention. "We are trying to learn the monk's way of life, but this girl, without even being a nomad or a monk, she already mastered the Anapanasati, I wonder how she learned such a technique."

"Anapanasati?" Teo began. "Yesterday before big sister Ty Lee entered that trance, she mentioned sleeping would be a suicide and said that if she were to fall asleep, she would have no energy to wake up in several days, she then mentioned the Anapanasati, she said it was a technique taught to her by a monk she met two years ago, but what is it?"

"Anapanasati means breathing the life force." Teo stared at his father with curiosity; the man just cleaned his own sweat away as he saw Ty Lee breathing again and then using her bow to stop the many soldiers coming closer to her. "Anapanasati means the practice of following a rhythm of breath to note the condition of your body, then focus the mind to be clear, and finally, transcending to a level of equilibrium within your life force, using the Anapanasati helps you avoid the need of food and sleep, but it also leaves you very vulnerable… it finds its source in the way you breathe and forces your heart to stop, pumping only the blood needed to do certain movements, then forcing your body to rest a few seconds before you can breathe again… monks live long lives by using this method during their meditation, I never thought I was ever going to see someone using it for battle, it's too dangerous! She can only do it because that hawk is protecting her between breathes, but for how long? She can't avoid all her attackers between breathes!" And as if it was a bad joke of destiny, one soldier avoided Hawky while Ty Lee was still trying to breathe. "It's all over; the girl sacrificed herself for us!"

"Ty Lee! No!" But the soldier about to attack Ty Lee could never land his blade against the girl, a green whip like object hit the soldier and sent him flying away, it was Eelen's tail, the furious Eel-Hound had stayed close to the army in hopes of finding her owner, only she found a close friend instead. "What is that thing?" Yelled Teo scared, Ty Lee breathed again and turned to see Eelen weakly, Hawky also joined her.

"…Eelen…" There was silence then, Eelen then used her tail to hit various soldiers away from Ty Lee and then bit some more away, and with the help of the well trained Hawky, more soldiers were distracted, giving Ty Lee enough time to breathe and then attack them. More soldiers left their tanks, more than the Anapanasati could help her deal with, only she now had Eelen by her side, and a new bag with arrows the Eel-Hound always carries with her. "…Thank you…" She wasted a breathe to say that last, but she now could attack from far while launching her arrows and giving the Anapanasati a safer use, while she breathed, she could aim, and she only needed a second to fire, and for her protection, a Giant-Eel-Hound and a well-trained Red-Ribbon-War-Hawk, Ty Lee was once again a one girl army, only this time she wasn't alone.

* * *

"Ught… I no longer know if I'm sleeping or if I'm awake…" Toph said while opening her blind eyes, she and her small group of warriors were currently hiding inside of one of the caves around the Patola Mountain Range, she was tired and starving, but she was surely in way better conditions than both Sokka and Ty Lee were, only there was no way she could know. The army she now lead after Sokka jumped from the cliff was a small one, all her army consisting in only 10 airbenders, Bato, Suki, and herself were all worn out after fighting the advancing army for a whole day and having little rest, luckily for them, the mobilization army, tired of trying to climb the mountain, abandoned the fruitless attempt. "I wonder how Sokka and Ty Lee are doing."

"They are much likely fine, remember this is Sokka we are talking about, he always seems to have a plan, and even if Ty Lee is battling on her own, that crazy girl surely has everything solved." Toph nodded barely at Suki's weak words, she then stood up from her resting spot and walked toward Bato, Suki followed her.

"The tanks are totally immobile… but it looks like some soldiers are leaving their tanks and retreating toward the forest." Bato said while seeing the whole situation by using Sokka's telescope, Toph and Suki joined him and waited for Bato to finish the analysis. "One soldier per tank is leaving… everyone else stays behind and inside of the tanks."

"I don't care! Unless they leave the Patola Mountain Range entirely and leave the temples alone, I'm taking no risks!" Toph said while pushing Bato and Suki behind, Toph then buried both of her feet at the floor and placed both hands in praying position. "I'm gonna stay here and stop them, you all return to the temple and help with the evacuation."

"Umm… Toph, I appreciate your offering, but even you can't possibly face a whole army of the Fire Nation alone." Suki pointed out while counting the remaining tanks, or at least the ones she could see, the number was close to 30, which meant Ty Lee managed to stop more than the half of the tanks trying to climb the Patola Mountain Range. "Dear spirits, that girl is a monster; she really defeated so many soldiers on her own?"

"Of course she did, Ty Lee is a one girl army, I have traveled with her enough to know how good she is, only she never managed to defeat me or Sokka in combat, I think that's enough to say I know how to take care of myself, now go, find monk Pasang and help him evacuate the temple, we have less than 2 days left." Bato and Suki exchanged looks, they then nodded in agreement and lead the monks toward the top of the mountain and back to the Air Temple. "Avatar Kyoshi… I have a vague memory of the incident, but I know you taught me the meaning of the last two teachings not even Master Yu was able to master… I finally understand the real essence of the earth as my own essence…" Toph said as in a prayer, she then felt the earth moving, the grass even moved as well, revealing the meaning of the last teachings of Avatar Kyoshi, the ones that forced her to lose her humanity.

Roots then came out from the floor and buried the tanks at the skirt of the mountain, many soldiers came out of their tanks scared, some moved the tanks away from the roots and began a retreat, many others stayed when seeing the roots no longer moving, Toph's unnatural earthbending managed to trap 10 tanks, leaving only a useful number of tanks close to 20, including the royal tank which she was unable to bury in roots entirely. "That should be enough for now… I need to, recover my energy… so I can do it again." Toph then fell to the floor and unable to move anymore, using such style of bending was something she wasn't used to and could barely do. "Sokka… Ty Lee… please hurry…" She said before finally losing her senses.

* * *

"We finally arrived! This is the Western Air Temple!" Yelled Yún happily after guiding the first group of nomads safely around the tunnels, she had arrived to the Western Air Temple, a territory very close to the Fire Nation, but one the hostile nation had ignored during the air nomad genocide plan, traveling through the tunnels saved the nomads what normally would be a month of traveling, the reason behind this was the tunnels were especially designed to lead the air currents toward the direction of the next temple, allowing the nomads to glide the winds faster than usual, so even if they were discovered, traveling through the tunnels without a glider would be even worse than traveling outside of them. "Great Monk Yangchin! Great Monk Yangchin!" Yún yelled while running around the corridors of the Western Air Temple and ignoring the many young nomads doing reverences toward her. "Great Monk Yangchin! Please, I beg of you! We must evacuate the Easter Air Temple! The Fire Nation is attacking the temples! They have started an air nomad's genocide!"

"Yún, calm down, will you, we all know about the genocide, Avatar Aang spoke to all of us during dreams, he asked of us to start a massive evacuation toward the city of Omashu, at the Earth Kingdom." Monk Yangchin, a young and female member of the Western Monk Council spoke while pointing at many Giant-Snowbirds, beautiful birds like swans with crystal feathers, bigger than a human and only half the size of a Sky Bison, Yún stared at the birds with teary eyes, amazed by their beauty, she then stared at Momo, her poor replacement of a Giant-Snowbird, but ignored the unfair exchange and faced Monk Yangchin. "Even without the Avatar's advice, we would have started an evacuation, Yún, our temple is hidden at the mountains, but we are located very close to the Fire Nation, can you see the smoke coming from the distance? It's coming from the Fire Nation's Capital."

Yún stared at the smoke, she then spun her staff and jumped high opening her glider, she then saw the huge amount of smoke, just as if various volcanoes had erupted at the same time, the fire came from the capital of the Fire Nation itself, and Yún could swear she saw various objects flying around the Fire Nation capital. "Dragon-Hounds!" She yelled, she saw them despite the incredible distance, which meant the Dragon Hounds were now traveling in incredible numbers. "Then the Fire Nation ignored this temple because they knew the fire would be visible from our temple… the Fire Nation is despicable! How could they do this to their own people?"

"Do not allow yourself to fall victim of hatred." Yún turned around to see Monk Yangchin now flying by her side; she then nodded and swallowed her anger. "The Civil War at the Fire Nation is finally over, but I'm sure there are many survivors, however, right now we must protect our people from this genocide… Yún, fly back to your temple, Avatar Aang told me during my dreams that a second wave of evacuation is coming shortly, I will stay here and help our brothers to evacuate."

"Thank you, Monk Yangchin… I just hope not all is lost at the capital of the Fire Nation." Yún spoke before flying back to the temple and running her way inside of the caves, taking a different path this time, one leading the currents of air back to the Southern Air Temple.

* * *

"Die!" Mai slashed, fighting as hard as she could despite the rain still falling heavily on top of her head, Sokka, now taking more distance away from the furious swordswoman, wielded his sword and deflected the many sharp objects Mai launched to him each time he had won enough distance to avoid the wind cut Mai created after each slash. Mai then gasped for air and placed her hand at her forehead, she had lost a lot of blood because of the intense fight and could barely keep going, however, she refused to stop her attacks. "Great Agni! Give me the strength!" She yelled and ran toward Sokka with both hands wielding her sword; she launched the attack and forced Sokka to spin aside to avoid both, the blade, and the cutting wind. "Agni guides my blade! It's only matter of time before I can finally slash you!"

Sokka moved his hair away from his face, thanks to Mai's reckless attempt of a haircut; Sokka had a hard time keeping his now soaking hair from messing with his view. "I know all there is to know about Agni, a god who feeds of blood, the one forcing his people to Agni Kai, even Azula knew following him as a god was worthless!" Sokka said while running away, only Mai gave chase and was faster than him. "Why following such a blood thirsty god?"

"Who else could I ask help from? I was alone! All thanks to you! Now die for the glory of Agni!" Sokka then jumped before Mai could slash him, a tree next to Mai didn't have the same luck and was cut down, revealing the army and a group of soldiers running toward the heart of the forest. "The Dragon-Hounds are being called." Mai said while staring at the soldiers, all of them battling a Giant-Eel-Hound while a girl and her hawk fired them down and prevented them from approaching to a group of four tanks pulling a giant metal made structure like corral, where many Dragon-Hounds yelled in annoyance and hunger. "She escaped?"

"Ty Lee!" Yelled Sokka while jumping in the middle and starting fighting the soldiers approaching her, the girl collapsed once noticing Sokka, allowing herself to have a moment of peace. "Eelen! Hawky! I'm glad to know you are all safe!" He then jumped on top of Eelen, Hawky stayed close to Ty Lee, Sokka then commanded the Eel-Hound to attack the many soldiers approaching. "Great job Eelen!" He yelled while keeping an eye on Mai, the woman then pointed her sharp sword at the weak Ty Lee standing up and breathing once again.

"I have no idea of how you managed to escape, but I spared your life once, I owe you no more favors!" Sokka then threw his boomerang toward Mai, the girl noticed and cut it in half, Ty Lee then spun her bow and launched an arrow, only it was also cut by Mai, now running her way to meet Ty Lee, Sokka jumped off of Eelen and tried to slash Mai with his sword, but Mai slashed first and forced Sokka to block, and also wounded him because of the slashed air, Ty Lee breathed, she then took Baguazhang posture, but she still needed another breathe to use her Anapanasati, there was no time left, Mai launched an attack, but an earthquake was then felt, from the floor, Toph came out, and with her naked hand she intercepted the blade, only her skin wasn't cut thanks to her metal bending shattering the blade, her forehead, however, was cut only superficially by the cut air. "My sword!"

"Never touch my babysitter!" Toph yelled and then used her metalbending to break the sword in small fragments, she then kicked the floor and sent Mai away with the power of her earthbending, the girl then quickly turned around and hit the floor with her hand, forcing many pillars of earth to rise from the ground and hit many soldiers approaching. "Sokka!" She yelled, the Water Tribe Prince nodded, and with the help of Eelen and Hawky, began fighting the approaching soldiers, Ty Lee finally fainted. "Ty Lee is weak! Her heart beat is too slow!"

"Don't worry! She was in Anapanasati trance! Her body will take some time to return her heart beat to normal!" They then kept fighting the soldiers still trying to reach the metal prison that was the Dragon-Hound's carriage, but they were unable to approach, much because of Toph's bending powers, but also, because the furious Giant-Eel-Hound ridden by Sokka was a beast only a few managed to fight and stand victorious. "Can you feel Mai?"

"Yes! She is conscious and various feet away from us! But she isn't moving, she is just…" Toph then used her bending to push Sokka off of Eelen and saving his life from a flying dagger, she then hit the floor and some pillars tried to block the way of more of Mai's daggers but missed their targets, the daggers then hit the chains of the carriage and broke them, releasing the Dragon-Hounds. "Sokka!" The teen nodded and carried the unconscious Ty Lee, he then jumped on top of Eelen and offered his hand to Toph, pulling her on top of the Giant-Eel-Hound and running away.

"Everyone, ride a Dragon-Hound! We will transport our troops to the road! There we will proceed by feet! Those who can't ride a dragon return to the tanks, we resume the invasion immediately!" Mai then climbed a Dragon-Hound, many other soldiers climbed different ones, these Dragon-Hounds were more mature than the ones attacking the Fire Nation two years ago, each could carry at least seven Fire Nation soldiers, and the number of Dragon-Hounds reached around 20. "Move! We will attack from the front while our remaining tanks climb the southern walls! Glory to Agni! Glory to Fire Lord Ozai!" Mai yelled and then commanded her dragon to fly toward the temples, Sokka, being now the only one who could see the flying creatures, was speechless, the Dragon-Hounds were a backup plan, one which endangered many innocent monks still trying to evacuate the temples.

"…Stop…" Ty Lee spoke out while waking up; Sokka then pulled Eelen's ropes and stopped her. "…One last arrow…" She said while taking an arrow out and aiming to the dragon. "Spirits of life who blessed this land on times when the spirits walked on earth…" She breathed once again and kept aiming, the rain blurred her view, but she was already used to it and followed the dragon. "Allow this life to find a path toward your blessing, since today the life that will be sacrificed will keep many others alive…accept her soul…" She said with an emotionless stare and then fired the arrow, it flew with a sound of breaking wind and then was stabbed at Mai's chest, the girl, never expecting it, lost equilibrium and fell from her dragon, her body was then violently hit against the forest. "…I hope you find the path toward your god… homicidal maniac…" Ty Lee then fainted once again and allowed tears to fall from her eye.

"Did she just… kill Mai…?" Sokka nodded with sadness, Toph felt it in her vibrations and also felt the pain coming from Ty Lee's unconscious body while her heart rhythm slowly returned to normal. "Even after all that happened… I think I will miss her…"

"Yeah… she was fun to fight against… and even when she was always being harsh to me… she had all the right to hate me…" Toph said nothing; she just hugged Ty Lee's unconscious body. "Let's go! Without their leader, the army will take some time to organize, we need to reach the Temple before those tanks or the Dragon-Hounds do." Toph nodded, Sokka then commanded Eelen toward the temple.

* * *

"Monk Pasang!" Yún arrived back to the Southern air temple when the night fell, she then joined with Monk Pasang, who was currently asking his protégés to move heavy jars with a gold looking liquid inside, and toward the Flying Bisons, the monks then placed the jar on top of the animals using their combined efforts with airbending, and tied the jars to their backs. "What's all this?"

"An idea of young Sokka, but there is no time to explain, take another group of young monks with you toward safety, we have successfully protected the temple for two days none stopping, but until Avatar Aang reaches us and takes the remaining monks toward the western temple, we need to keep doing our best." Yún nodded, she then quickly began gathering more monks.

"I need 50 of you! Youngest monks first! Those who hadn't mastered the gliding entirely please stay for the last evacuation on top of the Flying Bisons, gliding around the tunnels isn't easy!" She yelled, many monks then joined her and got ready to leave, now only a small group remained, the one that would be guided by Aang to end the evacuation by the tunels, and the remaining group would leave on top of the bisons for the final evacuation.

"Monk Pasang!" Suki yelled while arriving to the temple after the long run around the roads, she gasped for air and then faced Bato, who was as good as new after the long run. "We saw…" She began, but then found the need for air, and once she took enough, she resumed what she was saying. "Dragons, they are transporting soldiers toward the main roads, there are 20 of them, they seem to have left each six soldiers at the roads where they are planning their advancing!"

"The other soldiers are leading the dragons around the temple, we are now surrounded, there is no place to escape." Bato finished what Suki was trying to inform, Pasang then faced Yún, the girl about to lead the monks around the tunnels then stared at him.

"Despite being a head monk, I don't have the battling neither the leadership skills to protect our people, I know this is perhaps a risky maneuver, but Yún, I need you to stay here and lead our brothers toward battle, it is the only way to actually face these dragons." The girl stared at Pasang with disbelief; she then stared at the 50 monks waiting for her to lead them around the tunnels. "I understand the risks, I don't know the roads toward the tunnels connecting our temples, but better be lost and try to survive than staying here and fight a battle we know only you can lead."

"Master Pasang… I know I'm not the spirit's favorite monk… I usually disobey their teachings and care little about pleasing them… such responsibility is one I don't think I can take." She lowered her face, Momo, who was as usual by her shoulder, lowered his head as well.

"Yún, when your grandfather was young, he was just like you… maybe a lot worse… he cared only about having fun and never prayed for the spirits, but upon being announced as the avatar, he took his role more seriously, he learned a lot, about peace, about equilibrium, about hope… you who are the reflex of your grandfather's soul, should know better than anyone what needs to be done and how to do it… after all, you share his same aura." Yún then nodded and made a reverence toward Pasang, the great monk returned the reverence back and lead the 50 young monks toward the tunnels. "Your grandfather will soon arrive to lead the last group around the tunnels! Make sure you keep the Fire Nation busy, and Yún… let the spirits bless your way to us safely."

"Let the spirits bless you, monk Pasang." She began, she then faced away. "The spirits would rather see me suffering and failing miserably before actually blessing me with their powers." She blew the bangs of hair away from her face and then began rubbing Momo. "You fly ahead and look for the dragons… I got an idea." Momo nodded and then flew away. "I need the owners of the Flying Bisons with me, take two companions with you each, we are going to hunt these dragons!" The monks obeyed and jumped on top of the bisons, leaving a small group of monks behind with Bato and Suki. "Suki, while I'm away you are in charge, get the nomads you have left ready, we will take those dragons down, and don't forget the soldiers coming from the road at the south, the road is narrow, they will be an easy target for airbending."

"Don't worry, as a skilled Kyoshi Warrior, I know how to take care of myself." Yún nodded, she then climbed Appa and waited. Once she heard the cry of Momo, she commanded Appa to fly and every Flying Bison after it followed the animal. "Good luck!" Yún smiled and commanded her warriors to fly after Momo, Suki then began plotting a plan to stop the army. "I need at least five nomads with me; we will halt the invasion forces, Bato, take a group with you and make sure the tanks are still immobile."

"Got it! Benders, with me, I will teach you all some Water Tribe leadership, stay behind and you will be punished! Failure won't be tolerated!" the monks flinched but followed Bato while the warrior whistled to his Tiger-Wolf. "We at the Water Tribe always travel with our guardian close to us, this guardian protects the weak when we go hunting, today we hunt some Fire Nation traitors, and with this wolf as our protector, there is nothing to fear, believe in my words, I have seen with my own eyes how this Tiger-Wolf stood defiant against Polar-Walrus-Bears!" The monks nodded, Bato then began running with the wolf by his side.

* * *

"Sokka, I hear the tanks, they are moving again." Toph added while hugging Ty Lee's body close to hers, the group was currently climbing with the help of Eelen the walls of the mountain, for the Eel-Hound it was a difficult task, even more because of the fact of the walls being soaked by the heavy rain that just recently began dying down and now was nothing but a shower of drops hitting their faces softly. "What's the plan now?"

"I'm not sure, the Civil War at the Fire Nation was a child's game compared to this, at least back at the Fire Nation we knew the terrain, here all we know is we have to climb the mountain." Eelen then slipped, Sokka and Toph both yelled scared at the feeling of falling down, but Eelen pressed her claws against the wall and recovered the lost equilibrium. "Come on Eelen! When you were a Little-Eel-Pup there was nothing you couldn't climb, don't tell me now that you are bigger… and weighting almost 20 times your weight from back then… you can't climb a small mountain." Sokka tried to encourage the Eel-Hound, only it wasn't working.

"That's just perfect Sokka, encourage your Eel-Hound not to give up by calling her fat!" Toph added sarcastically. "Come on Eelen! You crossed the whole ocean and helped us escape the Fire Nation two years ago; if you could cross that pound you can climb this rock!"

"You aren't doing that good of a job either Toph." The girl bit her lips in annoyance and ignored Sokka, the Eel-Hound finally made it to the road and rested there. "Great job Eelen! Who said the only way to get to the air temple was by Flying Bison?"

"Right now I wish that was true." She said while placing her hand at a wall, several meters away and close to the temple's entrance, many Fire Nation soldiers battled their way to the doors, Suki commanded the monks to attack using their combined airbending skills to push the Fire Nation soldiers back, some fell from the cliff, many others fought the wind and tried to get closer. "I can also feel the tanks climbing again! I think 17 of them! Bato and some monks are cutting the chains, but they aren't strong enough!"

"Got it, we are doomed." Toph crossed her arms in annoyance. "I'm thinking! But it's hard to do with our numbers and the one girl army traveling through dream land!" Sokka then climbed Eelen down and helped Toph down as well, once that was done, they placed Ty Lee down and close to Eelen's body. "Okay, it's the morning of the third day, I'm falling asleep, my stomach is growling since I haven't had anything but berries to eat ever since the freaking invasion began, and the battle continues, any suggestions?"

"I don't know, I slept for a while during the half of the second day, other than that, I have nothing in my stomach but bugs." She said while placing her hand at her growling stomach. "And being honest, I think some are recreating the Civil War of the Fire Nation at my belly."

"Oh great, we are just doomed." Sokka added sarcastically. "I'm too weak as to think of a plan, let's just do a sneak attack." Toph nodded, both then stood up and ran toward the invasion army now coming closer to the monks. "Sneak attack!" Sokka yelled and then clumsily pushed many soldiers down the cliff.

"Sokka! It's not a sneak attack if you yell it!" Toph bended various soldiers down the cliff as well, Suki smiled and then asked the monks to attack, each took a staff and began battling the soldiers, now the numbers were more even, but the power wasn't at all balance since Toph alone could outmatch ten soldiers. "I'm so freaking tired! I'm hungry! I need a bath and I want to sleep!"

"Yeah, what she said!" Yelled Sokka while aiding Toph in defeating the enemy, both then launched the last soldier together and away from the road and then collapsed. "I miss the Civil War at the Fire Nation; at least there I would actually sleep or eat some bread at the prison."

"You two stand up, believe it or not, you aren't the only ones starving or begging for some sleep." Suki said while helping both of her friends up. "This is awful; the tanks had just hit land." Suki said while seeing Bato and his monks running their way back to the temple. "There are still many monks inside, and not to sound selfish but, we also need to think of our own escaping plan… what do we do?"

"First things first, we need to seal ourselves at the temples before the Fire Nation arrives, Eelen, come." The tired Eel-Hound obeyed while carrying Ty Lee's unconscious body from the collar, once everyone was inside, Sokka faced Toph, the girl felt the vibrations and bended the entrance to the temple closed. "That barricade won't last for long, where is Yún?"

"She is leading a squadron of Flying Bisons toward the dragons, Bato says they surrounded us, Yún is trying to take down as much dragons as she can." Sokka then took his telescope from Bato's hands and approached the border of the temple, he then searched for the tanks, they were finishing the climbing and many soldiers were coming from out of them. "23 tanks… each of them with around 50 soldiers, what we have here is an invasion force of 1150 soldiers."

"…Well… if we consider them being 3600 when this began, then we aren't that bad…" Ty Lee spoke while finally waking up; Toph smiled and was the first one to celebrate Ty Lee's recovery by tackling the weak girl down. "Ow! Your highness! Please wait, I just came out of the Anapanasati! Right now everything is too painful!"

"Someone please bring something to eat to us!" Sokka said while collapsing next to Ty Lee, the monks nodded and went searching for some of the fruits they gathered. "We are glad to have you back, Ty Lee."

"Thanks, I'm glad to be back." She said while hugging Toph with the remaining strength she had left, remind me not to enter the Anapanasati like I did ever again, breathing only once every minute is bad for the lungs you know." She joked; she then accepted the fruit one of the monks offered to her. "So… what happened while I was out…?" She said between munches, Toph and Sokka also began devouring the fruits.

"Nothing much, just the usual Fire Nation invasion, only this time they are bigger in number and meaner, 1150 soldiers coming from the eastern wall, 20 dragon-Hounds all around the temple, Yún who knows where fighting some dragons while we all wait for avatar Aang to lead the last group toward safety, that plus the fact of we not being able to escape without the aid of the Flying Bisons equals to we are so screwed." Ty Lee smiled at Sokka's words, the prince did the same.

"All in a day of hard work protecting her highness!" She said while rubbing Toph's head softly. "So, now we wait for Yún to rescue us? Or are we going to plot something to escape?" She asked, Sokka lowered his head.

"I'm too tired as to think properly, but I do know something, we need to escape before the Fire Nation finds out our identities." Ty Lee gulped; Sokka stared at her with disappointment. "Let me guess… you let them know during one heroic speech."

"Quit bothering me, I was angered by Mai and ended telling her everything, even if she is dead now there is no telling if she informed one of the generals… if we escape with the nomads they will come after us, we need a different plan." Sokka nodded, he then began forcing his brain to work, only he was too tired and was falling asleep.

"Sokka, before we ran back to the temple, the nomads and I noticed a ship hitting land close to the Spike Pillars, we don't know if it is Earth Kingdom or Fire Nation since it sails with no flags, but it's big enough to navigate through Water Tribe seas." Bato added, Sokka nodded while lowering his head.

"Wait, are we going to the Water Tribe?" Toph asked, she hadn't being informed about the Water Tribe getting ready for an invasion against the Fire Nation yet, there had been no time to discuss it with Toph since back then she was depressed by the news of Ty Lee leaving the group. "Sokka, what about your status?"

"Your highness, we can't escape toward the Earth Kingdom, remember what Madam Wu said, her highness can't set foot on the Earth Kingdom until she is 16, the Fire Nation is obviously not an option, and staying at the Air Nomad's territories is asking the Fire Nation to capture us… besides, we have to announce our discovery from the library to the elders of the Water Tribe… sooner or later we had to go there…" Everyone nodded; Sokka lowered his head but nodded as well. "I think I got an idea… I marked a tank with some berries back at the forest, I left allies there, we can climb that tank and use it to reach the ship while being unnoticed."

"You aren't that good at doing plans, are you?" Ty Lee sadly had to admit she wasn't. "But it may be our only choice, only we have two problems, first, the evacuation isn't complete, and second, there is no way Eelen can take us all through 1150 soldiers on her own with this condition." They all nodded, Sokka then came to a conclusion. "We need Yún's help, only on top of a Flying Bison will we be able to escape… we now have no choice but wait."

* * *

"Keep moving people! If a hundred years old Flying Bison can fly like this, then you too can!" Yún yelled while commanding Appa to move around the mountains and leave their pursuers behind, the 20 dragons, including the one that once belonged to Mai, followed the Flying Bisons around the pillars of stone close to the air temples, it was all part of Yún's plan, thanks to Momo and his nocturnal animal skills, he detected every dragon around the temple, and Yún forced them all out of their hiding spots. "I wish I didn't have my grandfather's planning mind! This is suicide!" She complained, the young monks flying after her were discouraged by her words. "Time to give these dragons a bath! Let's go Appa! Yip yip!" Appa growled hard and began flying higher. "You two! Spill the liquid on top of that dragon!" Yún said while pointing at the dragon with no rider chasing the old bison, the monks obeyed and spilled the liquid, bathing the dragon with it and making difficult the ability the hybrid animal had to fly. "Way to go! Everyone else do the same!"

The monks obeyed, they asked their bisons to fly higher and then spilled the golden looking liquid on top of the dragons chasing them, they all hit their objectives, and the dragons, whose wings were no longer useful, fell victims of the inability to carry their own weight anymore, the animals fell toward the forest and pulling their riders with them. "Sadly enough, we only had 13 vases with liquid." She said while seeing 7 more dragons going after them. "There is no more we can do! Return to the temple! Help everyone in the evacuation! Appa! You go protect them! Momo, stay with him!" Appa growled as he felt his ropes being released, Momo then noticed how Yún spun her staff and opened it into a glider, the lemur complained. "No complains, Momo! Only two days have passed! My grandfather still needs to lead another group of monks safely away from the temple, and with seven dragons left, we won't survive if we just retreat."

Yún jumped off of Appa's back and flew toward the dragons; she kicked the rider of one of them off and took control over the Dragon-Hound, who after noticing his owner had fallen, refused to help the stranger. "Relax, I don't want to hurt you, please give up and fly away, be free and leave my brothers alone." She said as trying to communicate with the beast, the dragon kept struggling. "I know you are a hybrid between a real dragon and an Eel-Hound, as a hound you are loyal to your master, but please, just this once." She begged, she then saw another couple of dragons approaching her. "Maybe I should rethink my plans!" She yelled as the dragons prepared to blast her with their flames, but before they could, Appa flew toward them and tackled them both down strongly, the startled dragons and their riders couldn't control their falling and also ended crashing at the forest. "Appa!" She yelled, the two young monks on top of the animal just began using their bending to scare the remaining dragons away. "They came back?" She then felt the weight of Momo at her shoulder. "Momo?" She began before the dragon began struggling once again. "Uf! Stupid Momo! You always disobey me! But right now I'm glad you did, let's use our special talent!" Momo nodded, he then curled his tail around Yun´s neck and closed his eyes. "I beg of you, I don't want to harm you or your brothers, I just want to save mine." She began as her eyes began glowing white, the dragon calmed down. "Tell your brothers to retreat, that way we won't have to hurt each other's."

The dragon then quit fighting Yún entirely, it then roared hard toward the dragons about to attack the old Flying Bison, the four remaining dragons abandoned their intention, confusing their riders, and staring at the one with Yún on top. "Thank you… get your brothers out of here and toward your home, I will help mine evacuate my own." She then jumped off of her dragon and landed on Appa, the dragon then roared to his brothers and flew away; the other dragons followed him while ignoring their masters, who still tried to force the dragons to attack the girl. "We have no time to waste, we halted the dragon invasion but the tanks climbing the mountain should have reached the temple already, let's hurry, we must keep fighting until my grandfather arrives." The monks nodded, Yún then guided them all back to the temples.

* * *

Back at the temples the walls of the once sacred place were attacked by the flames of the many firebenders just arriving. Toph created wall after wall of stone and mud trying to keep the invasion forces from entering the temple, where the last group of monks already awaited for Avatar Aang to arrive. "I don't know how much longer I will be able to do this!" Toph said while sweating hard and bending yet another wall to straighten the one being attacked by the Fire Nation Soldiers. "Sokka! We need a plan here!"

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking! But nothing comes to my mind! We are surrounded, and our only strike force is a group of retreating monks!" He said while ordering several monks toward the bisons just arriving. "That one looks stronger! I need two more monks to climb it!" Bato then selected two monks and they ran to Sokka, who pointed at a bison for them to climb. "Bato! Now I need 3 young ones to climb the one at the right."

"There are no longer monks that young, they were sent in the first evacuation wave." Bato admitted and pointed at various monks, most of them older than Sokka. "I'm afraid we can no longer play with the weights, we can only fill the spaces." Sokka nodded, he then asked more monks to climb the bisons. "Where in the world is Avatar Aang? We are the ones fighting and risking our lives here."

"Avatar Aang is no warrior; he is just an elder monk!" Sokka yelled, he then stared at the bisons, there was no space left and the bisons couldn't carry any more weight. "This looks bad… we still have some monks left!"

"And I can't keep bending forever! If you hadn't noticed, the Fire Nation traveled here at their comfortable tanks while we barely sleep or eat during these 3 days!" Toph yelled while trying to bend another wall, only the wall was just half completed. "Even the strongest earthbender needs a rest." She said while collapsing, Sokka ran to her side and caught her before the fall.

"I'm ready to take the Anapanasati again if needed." Ty Lee said while standing up and biting yet another fruit. "I lack sleep, but my stomach is full, it's enough to help me fight." She added, but not being entirely convinced, the way Ty Lee used the Anapanasati was different than the way it was supposed to be used, entering that stage was lethal if used incorrectly.

"No more monk techniques crap! I didn't live between them for quite a while, but even I know you can't use their pacifist teachings for harming! You are going to end up killing yourself! The Anapanasati is not a battle technique!" Toph complained, but once she heard the cracking noise of the walls, she flinched, turned around, and tried to bend more walls. "I'm sick of this! If only I had slept more I could fight this army alone!"

"But you didn't! We all knew this would happen when we decided to protect the monks for 3 days none stopping; now all that is left is to try to survive this!" Sokka yelled at Toph, the girl closed her hands in annoyance and tried to bend another wall, only this time Sokka placed his hand at her shoulder and interrupted her. "It's fruitless, we need to retreat to the inner chambers and create a barricade there."

"…But…" She began, Sokka just placed his free hand at her other shoulder and helped Toph read his vibrations, for once, not forgetting about Toph being blind. "What will happen if Aang can't make it back in time?"

"Hey, for more than 400 years my tribe had to battle against the Avatar and without his protection, and we are still alive and strong, aren't we?" Toph nodded, Sokka's vibrations were now calmer than when they began fighting the Fire Nation. "We won't die today, remember you and I still have a promise to keep, even if recently it seems like I have given the promise little importance."

"Fine, I get it! This isn't the moment to start being all lovely-dovely with me!" Sokka smiled, Toph returned the smile once feeling the warm vibrations but then pushed Sokka to the inner section of temple. "The wall won't last any longer!"

"Fine! Everyone, run to the statues chamber! And don't dare telling me it's a sacred place! Just do it!" The monks nodded. "Bato! You guide them!" The man nodded and asked his Tiger-Wolf to keep the monks from running elsewhere. "Ty Lee, get your arrows ready, we stay here until Yún comes back and protect the retreating bisons!" The girl spun her bow and readied an arrow. "Suki! The monks will need a guide and a place to hide; you will leave with the retreating group."

"What? You can't be serious! Your training in Aikido isn't over! And Ty Lee still needs to master the basis of Banguazhang! I'm staying with you people!" The proud Kyoshi warrior yelled. "You can't push me away! I'm a valuable member of this team!"

"We know! But someone needs to guide the monks! They won't survive on their own!" Also, we need you to alert the monks at the east about the genocide plan! The Southern Air Temple will soon fall, the western one is surely preparing for an evacuation, and I will be heading to the North Pole with Toph and Ty Lee, in the way we can alert the Northern Temple, but we need someone at the east to tell them and help their evacuation toward the Earth Kingdom!" Suki bit her lips in annoyance and moved her head in negation. "Suki, think! The Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom are allies! Only an Earth Kingdom one can lead the Air Nomads to territories that are free of this alliance! Only you know where it's safe!"

"Fine… I will do it…" Suki replied. "I will lead the nomads to Omashu and ask for King Bumi's help, Omashu is one of the few kingdoms that aren't entirely tied to the government of Ba Sing Se, also, as King Bumi was once Avatar Aang's close friend; I doubt he will deny the help." Sokka nodded, Suki made a reverence Earth Kingdom style. "Everyone, to Omashu!" Suki then climbed a bison. "We will surely meet again!"

"I wish I could take part on the farewell, but I spy with my little eye Fire Nation soldiers!" Ty Lee yelled and fired an arrow toward one of the soldiers coming out of the now destroyed walls, Suki thought about staying and fight, but instead, she obeyed Sokka's orders and flew away on top of the bison, followed by the retreating group. "So now we stay and fight? 3 against 1150, I guess we are only barely handicapped!" Ty Lee said while still firing her arrows and not allowing the soldiers to get any closer, those who escaped the arrows were then bended away by Toph, Sokka just readied his sword and began slashing those getting too close to Toph. "I wish you protected me like that!" Ty Lee yelled.

"Hey! I don't have the time to scold you for flirting with my boyfriend so stop toying around!" Toph added with annoyance and then hit a soldier using her hand, the soldiers had approached so much she couldn't relay on her bending anymore and began using the Hung Gar as her only defense, Sokka was also forced to use Aikido and Chi Blocking since using his sword at this short distance against so many enemies was useless. "Stupid Fire Nation!"

"Hey! I'm still Fire Nation your highness!" Ty Lee yelled while hiding her bow and jumping next to the couple, she then combined Chi Blocking with Baguazhang for battle. "If we are going to die, I just want you two to know I always thought you made a nice couple!" Ty Lee added playfully.

"Toph! Bend everyone's feet to the ground!" Yún yelled while arriving, Toph obeyed and bended her own feet and the ones of Sokka and Ty Lee to the floor, Yún then jumped down of Appa with her two companion monks, they all spun their staffs around and then unleashed their bending powers, pushing the Fire Nation soldiers back, Toph, Sokka and Ty Lee had to grab their hands to prevent themselves to end up unburied and be send away with the other soldiers, but once the strong wind was gone, Toph reacted, used her remaining bending powers to create another wall, and then unburied her friends. "Sorry for the delay, those dragons were hard to convince, where is everyone? Did grandpa arrive?"

"Avatar Aang arrived just now! Everyone is reunited at the stones chamber for the final evacuation!" Bato yelled while arriving with his guardian animal next to him, Yún nodded and ordered her companions to leave with the group. "All that is left is for us to escape this place; the evacuation will be complete once those kids reach the Avatar."

"Not entirely." Toph cracked her fingers and then breathed a few times trying to win some energy, she then began concentrating in her vibrations, and once the kids entered the sacred chamber safely, Toph unleashed her powers. An earthquake was then felt, the whole temple began shattering and falling apart, everyone was surprised by Toph's power, after the 3 days of battling and barely being able to generate walls to prevent the Fire Nation from invading the temple, she forced herself to destroy the temple. "This will… keep the Fire Nation from discovering the tunnels…" Toph then collapsed; Sokka took the girl in his arms and carried her.

"Good job Toph." He whispered to her. "There is no time to waste, Yún, we need to arrive to the tank Ty Lee marked with berries, there are some allies there waiting for us." The girl blinked twice not knowing what to say but nodded, she then helped the group to climb the old flying bison, the wall was then destroyed, many soldiers threw their bending toward the group, Ty Lee just fired some arrows at them to keep them away. "I will meet you all down there! I can't leave Eelen behind!" Sokka said after delivering Toph to Ty Lee, he then climbed the Eel-Hound. Hawky then flew to Sokka's arm. "Hurry! I will create a diversion!" He then asked Eelen toward the soldiers arriving, the furious Eel-Hound roared and scared various soldiers away, she then tackled many others away and jumped down the mountain and toward the forest.

"That prince is crazy!" Yún yelled, she then commanded Appa to fly. "Yip yip! We are leaving!" The old bison obeyed, they then all retreated while staring at the Fire Nation soldiers taking over the destroyed temple and looking for any monk but finding none. "And so the place I for so long called my home finally fell… let's go Appa." She said, they then flew down and toward the forest.

* * *

"Run faster Eelen!" Sokka yelled at the creature while avoiding the flames of many soldiers coming out from the tanks that could no longer climb the mountain because of the giant roots surrounding them. "Damn! I knew many soldiers were left but I doubted they were these much!" Sokka then pulled Eelen toward the trees; the Eel-Hound jumped on top of one and knocked it down, the tree then fell on top of a tank and scared the soldiers away. "Nice doing! Now, Hawky! Lead the safest way to the ship!" The hawk obeyed and avoided many fire balls thrown at him, the fireballs then began a fire around the forest, the rain had stopped, which meant there was no water to prevent the fire from spreading. "Thanks a lot Fire Nation! As if I didn't have enough problems already!" The soldiers retreated; thanks to their flames the fire was approaching the tanks. "The results of war, this is just great, Eelen! Let's move! Follow Hawky!"

The Eel-Hound roared and followed the bird, Sokka then noticed someone was following him, it wasn't the Fire Nation since they were retreating, it was a mercenary girl on her shirsu. "We meet again, Water Tribe Prince! Luckily for me you survived, now I can resume my attempt of capturing you and claiming my bounty!"

"Can't you quit bothering me woman? I got no time for this!" June smiled and then took her whip out, Sokka readied his sword and prepared for yet another battle, June attacked, but Sokka noticed the whip wasn't directed to him but toward a dagger flying toward him. "What?" Sokka then directed his look toward the direction the dagger came from, his eyes then widened, the dagger was launched by Mai, now flying dangerously close to the Eel-Hound after finding her dragon, her tunic was full with blood falling from her chest, where Sokka could see the broken arrow Ty Lee had fired. "How can she still be alive? Not only she was feathered by Ty Lee, but she fell from very high!" Mai said nothing, she just launched more daggers to Sokka, the warrior blocked, some other daggers were blocked by June's whip. "Which side are you?"

"Believe it or not, right now I'm on your side." She smiled, she then pointed at the east, where a tank was now leaving the forest with the aid of the Rouge Rhinos who pushed many trees away and clearing the path for the group. "We have been watching the war since it began, only we waited for the right moment to strike, watch out!" She said and Sokka dodged the flames of the dragon Mai flew at, despite the dragon's wings being covered in sticky fruit juice, the dragon was strong and still could fly; only Mai needed a lot of concentration to do it. "Your girlfriend is way too attached to you, to keep fighting like this after such wounds? I wonder how far she can keep going." Mai took more daggers out of her tunic. "Impressive, how many more she has hidden?"

"I still don't know what's going on here but I surely don't want to find it out yet." Eelen made it out of the forest with June and her Shirsu, the tank and the Rouge Rhinos also made it to the beach, only then they noticed the Elite Fire Nation soldiers on top of the ship. "Damn it! I should have known!"

"Die!" The wounded assassin finally yelled, Ty Lee jumped out of the tank and launched an arrow, the girl cut it with one of her daggers and then got ready to thrown another one to Sokka, but before she could, she saw a lighting being launched toward her and asked her dragon to avoid it. "Lighting? But only a few know that technique!" Mai then stared at the one who launched the attack, her eyes then widened and watered. "Princess Azula?"

"Azula?" Both Ty Lee and Sokka yelled in surprise, Azula's elite soldiers then took bending postures and threw their flames against Mai's dragon. "What is going on here?" Sokka asked.

"You better not ask, now get inside of the ship, all of you!" June commanded, Sokka and Ty Lee exchanged looks, Sokka then faced Bato, who left the tank while carrying the unconscious Toph, the many former prisoners also abandoned the tank. "What are you waiting for? Get inside of the ship before I force you inside!" June yelled, the Rouge Rhinos all took battle positions.

"Enough!" Azula commanded, June and the Rouge Rhinos obeyed. "Sokka… get your friends onboard, we will lead you all to the North Pole." Sokka's eyes widened, Mai reflected the same emotion, she then commanded her dragon to attack. "Stop right there Mai! You will desist your attack! This is the order of the Fire Princess of the Fire Nation!" Azula commanded, Mai allowed tears to fall from her eyes.

"This can't be… Princess Azula… you are betraying your nation by siding with Water Tribe garbage! He is not only any Water Tribe savage! He is the Prince of the Southern Water Tribe! He is our enemy! Princess Azula, please…!" Mai then commanded her dragon to back off; Azula had fired another lighting toward them. "What are you doing… princess Azula…?"

"What are you all waiting for? A royal invitation? Get inside of the ship right now! And Mai, if you approach the ship once again, I will attack you directly instead of sending out warnings." The girl continued crying. "Hurry!" Confusion was evident in the faces of everyone, but they nodded and began boarding the ship, being endlessly alert of the Fire Nation soldiers around them, Ty Lee was the first one to get inside, she stared at Azula with curiosity, and upon seeing her hurt stare, Ty Lee understood it wasn't a trap, but Azula betraying her own ideals to follow new ones.

"Sokka, everything is fine, Azula is on our side now… for now at least." Sokka nodded, he then ordered Bato to get inside while the strong Water Tribe warrior carried Toph inside and asked his Tiger-Wolf to follow him.

"I can't promise your safety, those who wish to escape with us feel free to do it, for everyone else, Yún will guide you toward safe lands around the Earth Kingdom." Sokka said while pointing at the girl arriving once again with Appa after having battled many soldiers to keep their attention away from the retreating tank, it was evident in the burned fur of the animal.

"We will go with you!" Yelled Teo while being carried by his father, Sokka nodded and invited them in; all other former prisoners just joined Yún.

"Get inside." June ordered Sokka, the teen bit his lips in annoyance but nodded, he then commanded his Eel-Hound to climb the bridge and go inside of the ship, once everyone was inside, June and the Rouge Rhinos went inside as well. "Ah, the satisfaction of a well-paid job, we made it boys, I had my doubts, but everything went as planned."

"Azula?" Mai asked once again while pressing her chest where Ty Lee's arrow was. "Why are you doing this? Why are you betraying your nation? Please answer me, Azula! I need to know!" More and more tears fell from Mai's eyes; Azula just lowered her face for a second, but never quit pointing her fingers away from Mai. "Azula?"

"My nation betrayed itself!" Azula yelled, Mai moved her head in negation not wanting to believe it. "Tell my father… that there is no longer a heir to the throne whiling to follow his total war plan… also, tell him that Princess Azula will lead those loyal to the nation toward times of peace, the Civil War may now be over, but this internal conflict isn't over yet."

"Lady Azula!" Mai yelled, she then saw how Azula's soldiers cut the ropes tying the ship to land and then prepared to set sail, the small bridge they placed was also lifted, and the ship began heading north and toward the Northern Water Tribe. "Princess Azula! Please don't do this!" Mai commanded her dragon to follow the ship, Azula then was about to launch another lighting only to be stopped by Ty Lee, who placed herself in the way and with an arrow ready. "You changed her!" Mai yelled to Ty Lee as the girl tensed the string of her bow. "I will kill you, Circus Freak!"

"How many times do I have to kill you for you to stay dead, homicidal maniac?" Ty Lee told herself, she then launched the arrow, it hit Mai's neck, but only barely since the girl caught the arrow in the middle of the way to her throat. "Missed?" Ty Lee then moved her head in negation. "No… I did it on purpose… maybe she won't die, because I don't want to kill her."

"But you still hurt her badly, I suppose you changed a lot during the time we were separated, you became more like me, there is a slight feeling of cruelty surrounding your heart." Azula said while reading Ty Lee like an open book.

"You call it cruelty… I call it compassion… all I want is for her to stop suffering… but I'm also selfish, and don't want to see her die… I never miss a target, but Mai have forced me to miss twice already…" Ty Lee then readied her bow once again. "Please live… one day I want to apologize to you…" Ty Lee said. "Spirits of life who blessed this land on times when the spirits walked on earth… forgive my selfishness and allow this life to find a path toward your blessing, since today the life that will be sacrificed… will help the shattered one of a friend to live… let this life that will be sacrificed, give a second chance to her…accept its soul…" Ty Lee fired, her arrow hit Mai's dragon and killed it with a clean shot between the eyes, it fell from the sky and into the water, Mai then swum her way out of the water and coughed hard, blood came out of her throat and mouth, she then took the arrow out of her neck. "I hate killing so much."

"But you still lack the eyes of an assassin that Mai has, your eyes are still pure, I can see you have never killed a human yet… will you ever?" Ty Lee moved her face in negation. "I hope so." Azula added, she then walked toward Sokka. "I told you that next time we met I was going to kill you." Sokka nodded. "Be glad I'm good at lying… very good at it…" She added. "Admiral, prepare rooms for all of our guests, and someone bring a chair for this boy." She said while pointing at Teo. "Captain, set course to the Village of Chin, there we will buy supplies for the long trip toward the North Pole… Sokka… Ty Lee… I want you both at my room after you two have rested and cleaned your wounds, there is a lot we need to talk about, but there is nothing for you two to worry… we are fighting a common enemy… Fire Lord Ozai." Both exchanged looks but nodded in agreement, they then left, guided by Azula's soldiers and toward their new rooms. "I hope I'm doing the right thing."


	20. Crossroads of Destiny

**Slavery Mark: Book Two – Air.**

**Final Chapter: Crossroads of Destiny.**

* * *

"Say… Sokka… can you still remember the good old days… when everything was simpler…?" Ty Lee began while staring out of the window of the Fire Nation ship they now traveled at, her only useful eye endlessly staring at the water drops once again falling and forcing the crew's trip toward the North Pole to be a difficult one. Sokka, always staying close to his once mercenary group of friends, faked a smile toward the girl sitting by the window in front of him while rubbing the now river of hair that was once Toph's hair as the Earth Princess hugged Sokka between snores. "For her highness this war must be difficult… at the Fire Nation at least we knew our only propose was running away, fighting so hard to save people she cares about must have been a traumatic experience." And as Ty Lee spoke, the young earthbender curled even more against Sokka's body, this time stealing from the Water Tribe lost prince a real smile.

"Nah! She will be fine." He said with enthusiasm while placing his cape around the girl to protect her from the wind of the heavy rain. "Right now I'm more worried about what will happen once reaching the North Pole… I gave my back to my people, forgot about my traditions, and abandoned my wild side in favor of a vow of loyalty toward a prince I don't know if still lives and a princess who currently doesn't want to speak to me." Sokka said while staring at Azula, as the girl commanded her crew to get ready to disembark. "Think she will order me to kill myself any time soon?"

"I wouldn't worry about Azula ordering you that, after surviving Mai the way you did, I doubt she will even dare trying." Sokka nodded, Ty Lee then stared at Sokka's body, despite the intense fight against Mai and falling from the top of a mountain and landing on a tree's branch, Sokka was as good as new, while she and Toph still had many wounds from the battle that took place just yesterday. "How is it possible? No one ever battling Mai can escape unscratched, just look at me right now, I mean, it hurts me to even blink an eye."

"That's what happens when you use monk's teachings for battle, which by the way was really stupid." Ty Lee stared at him oddly; Sokka, as usual, ignored the situation and stared at the water drops. "Do you believe in spirits?" Ty Lee nodded. "Be aware that I'm not asking if they exist, we all know they do, I'm only asking you if you believe in them."

"What kind of question is that? We all know spirits exist, we learned it from the Air Nomads, and the Avatar is the living proof of their blessing, and wasn't the spirit of a wise owl the one pursuing us at the library of Wan Shi Tong? So yeah, I believe in spirits I guess." Sokka moved his head in negation. "What other proof you need?"

"For their existence? None, for me to believe in them it's quite different." Sokka admitted while rubbing the necklace of his mother. "They called me the child of equilibrium, blessed by the spirits since the day of my birth… I have met several spirits in my life, the Blue spirit, Wan Shi Tong, Avatar Kuruk… my mother." Ty Lee blinked twice, Sokka just smiled once again. "Spirits exist, but I don't believe in all spirits… little are those who have aided us in our mission, all others seem to be against us… such as La at the day of my initiation… or Agni when Mai refused to die and continued fighting endlessly."

"I doubt Mai's madness had anything to do with Agni… that girl… she believes in nothing but her objective… I can't even start imagining what king of torments her mind and heart are going through at this moment." She added with depression, something Sokka found better to ignore. "You mentioned two spirits… Agni and La… who is La?"

"La is the spirit who supposedly blessed me upon my birth… Tui and La are the two spirits who blessed our tribe and accepted to live between us… spirits who took human form to stay close to their loved ones…" Sokka then closed his hand into a fist. "…Mom told me that whenever the day of my initiation arrived, La would judge me to know if I'm really the one who will bring equilibrium to our tribe… the day of the storm… La's judgment took place, only there is no way for me to know if he accepted me or not."

"Well… I was there during the initiation… and for me; I believe you earned your title." She giggled; Sokka moved his head in negation a good number of times but never erased the smile on his face. "So, what happens if you fail or pass the judgment?"

"If La thinks I'm not worthy, then it means the end of my tribe… the spirits will abandon us, survival or extinction will be our fault alone." Sokka then stared at Toph, the smile on his face was then erased. "And if La believes I'm worthy… I will be promised to the girl blessed by Tui's spirit… unifying both poles in an unique society, and leading them both toward a war with Tui and La guarding us endlessly and leading our people toward times of peace… or so say the prophecies… only… even thought I know about the existence of the spirits… I stopped believing in them and ignored my heritage…"

"You are Water Tribe, Sokka, no matter how much you try to hide it… and toward the eyes of the world, being Water Tribe means slavery… never forget, that my nation, even if I dislike the idea, once sold you as a slave, and a natural tattoo is the proof of it… even if it was modified to hide your status." Sokka then stared at his hand, of all his wounds, there was only one mark that couldn't be healed, and that was the tattoo of a star with 4 spikes that was now his personal Slavery Mark. "I told you before… I have only one objective… and that is too see the day her highness claims her throne, if that means I will have to fight against the Fire Nation, then so be it… and if that means I will have to help you fulfill the prophecy… no matter how much it hurts me… it is my duty to make sure you fulfill it."

"I don't believe Toph will like how that sounds." Sokka said while staring at his Slavery Mark. "I did a lot… from prince to slave… from slave to peasant… from peasant to a friend of the royal family… then to aspiring knight… then a mercenary leader… and now… a refugee trying to claim the throne I once had, but I never did this to favor the spirits, the whole contrary, I gave my back to my heritage to pursue a childhood promise, one I'm willing to keep even if the spirits think different."

"Sokka." Both Ty Lee and Sokka reacted at that last, they then turned around to see Azula a few meters away from them. "We will soon disembark at the Earth Kingdom, and my men will be busy all day buying supplies for the trip ahead, in the meantime, you and I need to speak." Azula then walked away, Sokka slowly stood up trying not to wake Toph, and then walked after Azula and toward the room's section.

Once Sokka was gone, Ty Lee rubbed Toph's leg and smiled. "Your highness, you can fool Sokka all you want, but I'm one that can't be fooled by your actions, I know you have been pretending to be asleep all along." Toph opened her blind eyes and nodded, she then took a sitting position close to Ty Lee. "Come here your highness!" Ty Lee added while pulling Toph into a hug. "So, what's on your mind, my princess? Worried about the prophecy of Sokka's tribe?"

"I don't know… should I?" Toph asked, Ty Lee just rubbed her face against Toph's long hair as a reply to her questions. "He admitted it… he gave his back to his heritage only to keep a promise he made to me… I know I shouldn't worry about it… hearing it from Sokka is… well… relaxing… but… it just feels so wrong… just as if I was betraying Sokka in a way…"

"Well, maybe it is because you are." Toph pulled Ty Lee's arm so the girl would end up hugging her, Ty Lee enjoyed the sensation and smiled. "Her highness… it's no secret to anyone that I love Sokka… but I'm no longer trying to win his love, mostly because I know it is something that would hurt her highness a lot, but also because I understand there are things that no matter how much I want, they aren't meant to happen… sometimes… the better way to express your love is allowing your loved one to do what he wants to do… or what you know is best for him."

"Are you saying I should give up on Sokka?" Ty Lee moved her head in negation several times while rubbing her face against Toph's hair. "Then I don't get you… you said I should, but at the same time you said I shouldn't."

"…I don't know… when I took my decision, I listened to my heart… her highness… all I want you to know is that giving up on a feeling that is precious to you, is not the end of it all… it's just the beginning of something new… so, wherever our paths and believes leads us from now and on, make sure you are always aware that it will never be the end of it as long as you live…" Ty Lee then fell asleep after saying that last; her body wasn't ready yet to help her stay awake for long periods of time.

"I pity you and envy you so much, Ty Lee." Toph admitted to herself as she turned around and pulled her babysitter into a hug. "You are always suffering more than everyone, and always seem to be able to smile after it all happens… I wish I could be a little more like you."

* * *

"I suppose you know why I have summoned you to my cabin." Azula said while sitting down and staring at Sokka with determination, the teen just made a reverence Fire Nation style and kneeled for Azula. "That's not necessary anymore… you are no longer my slave…"

"But I still vowed my loyalty to you, Azula, my life belongs to you." Sokka added with a smile, one that Azula found hard to trust, she lowered her face while Sokka continued kneeling toward his princess. "Why are you helping us?"

"To find my brother." Sokka stood up with concern once hearing that last, Azula just moved her hand as asking Sokka to sit, the teen nodded and sat in front of Azula. "You got no idea of what happened after the Civil War? Do you? What was your plan?"

"It wasn't my plan, this time Zuko is the one taking all the credit, he was supposed to be leading the resistance army against the Fire Lord and try to claim the throne with the help of Master Yu… but I don't believe I should be telling you this… after all, I have no idea of what had been happening at the Fire Nation after the Civil War." Azula nodded, she then placed herself in a more comfortable situation, placing her boots on top of the table and impressing Sokka, who always believed Azula was the living stereotype of any royal family member. "Nice boots."

"Were you aware of Zuko planning his own dead in order to convince the Fire Nation into revealing against my father?" Sokka nodded, Azula bit her lips in annoyance. "Well… it worked…" Sokka lowered his head when hearing that last, he then placed his hand inside of his cape and took out from it a silver crown similar to the royal artifacts which the members of royalty wear at the Fire Nation, he then rubbed the object with sadness evident in his face.

"I knew Zuko was planning something like that… ever since he placed the mask of the Blue Spirit on, I had that feeling he was going to try to die as a martyr." Azula was surprised to hear that revelation, Sokka just continued. "But I had a faint hope on him having second thoughts."

"Well… he didn't…" Azula added, Sokka nodded while lowering his face. "But his dying as a martyr plan also failed… Zuko survived the attack…" Sokka then stared at Azula with interest, the girl then threw a sheet of paper with the drawing of one of the Water Tribe emblems. "the day Zuko was supposedly killed by my father, uncle Iroh and I saw a ship sailing away from the cloud of blood dying the waters red… the ship had this emblem, we knew it was water Tribe because of the color of the sails… but the emblem… it is from the Southern Water Tribe, not the Northern one."

"…Katara…" Azula recognized the name, it belonged to the Water Tribe girl she interacted with when she was a kid. "This isn't just the emblem of the Southern Water Tribe… it is the emblem of my family… the Silver-Tiger-Wolf…" Sokka said while moving his hand against the emblem that looked like a couple of evil eyes and the jaw of a wolf. "Only my blood can carry this emblem… then it means Katara found Zuko."

"Then your sister held my brother prisoner." Sokka stared at Azula, the young woman placed her feet down and stared at Sokka directly. "All I want… is to find my brother… and together we will find a way to recover the control of the Fire Nation… everything else… the Air Nomad's Genocide… the destruction of the Fire Nation Capital… the Earth Princes, or you returning to your tribe… all that is something I don't care about… I'm planning on giving you as an exchange for my brother."

"Fair deal." Sokka added, Azula remained in silence and waited for Sokka to continue. "How about we make a deal… you are the rebel princess of the Fire Nation and I am the lost prince of the Water Tribe…" Azula once again kept her silence. "I heard from one of my soldiers, that the North Pole is getting ready for a massive invasion toward the Fire Nation, of course a battle between the two cultures will end in both being erased… that is, if I'm not there to lead the attack during a date we discovered during our travels…" Sokka then took out a piece of calendar from out of his tunic and gave it so Azula. "The day of the Black Sun… if you help me, I promise you to help you claim the throne of the Fire Nation… if we attack during that day, the Fire Nation will be powerless, we will help you claim the throne, and everything will be over, you and Zuko will be back as Fire Lords, and we can agree on a peace treatment between our cultures… everyone wins…"

"You do know this information is dangerous at the hands of a Fire Nation royal… don't you…?" Sokka nodded. "Why telling me this… I still dislike the Water Tribe… I planned my whole life to eradicate it… and now you give me the date of the invasion… and ask for my help…? Why?"

"Because I vowed my loyalty to Prince Zuko and Princess Azula… and I wish to see the day when you two claim your thrones and lead the Fire Nation toward times of peace." Azula couldn't believe it, after so long, after the pain both went through, Sokka saw Azula as his owner. "Will you help me…?"

"If I say I won't… will you be my enemy?" Sokka moved his head in negation; he then took his glove off and showed his tattooed hand to Azula. "You no longer have the Slavery Mark… all that bonds you to me is a fake promise of loyalty… since you aren't Fire Nation, that vow you did was fake…" Sokka moved his head in negation.

"This mark in my hand… is still my Slavery Mark… it represents the day you gave my liberty to me, but also the day I took my vows for you seriously, Azula, I'm your loyal servant until the day I help you back to your throne." Azula then nodded, Sokka smiled. "So, that means we are traveling companions now?"

"Don't try your luck… I may be accepting your terms… but this truce between you and me won't last forever… I still stand firm to my beliefs of the Water Tribe being a bunch of savages who deserve nothing but slavery… until you prove me wrong, our relationship is the same of a prisoner being exchanged for a prince." She added coldly, she then waved her hand and Sokka made a reverence Fire Nation style, he then stood up and left the place.

* * *

Back at the Southern Air temple, many soldiers of the Fire Nation were running around the place and setting camp, vise general Qin, the responsible of the technology the Fire Nation tanks were made with, ordered the soldiers all around the temple searching for any survivor. "How can this be possible? We attacked from every possible direction! How could a whole temple be evacuated so fast and leaving no trace behind? If Fire Lord Ozai finds about this, it will be my ruin! I knew I should have stayed at the capital and help Warden with the rebel's eradication! Even if the invasion was a success, how can there be an Air Nomad's Genocide with no Air Nomads?"

"Vise General Qin, sir! We found lady Mai! She is alive but badly injured!" One of the soldiers informed the general and then pointed toward a group of soldiers helping Mai to walk around the temple until they were finally able to place her on top of an improvised haystack bed, usual for the nomads who used to live at the temple. "There is an arrow at her throat, one we couldn't take out, a wrong movement and the arrow will cut her…" But the soldier was silence as he saw Mai placing her hand at the arrow and pulling it out.

"Ughaaaah… ah… uyaaah!" She yelled as she took the object out, she then coughed, but no words came out from her lips, only a weak and shattering sound full with pain and hatred, it was a groan that scared every soldier. She then stared at the arrow; her eyes began shaking with fury as her pupils seemed to be about to break into pieces by the hatred Mai felt.

"Lady Mai! Are you out of your mind? Taking the arrow just like that! Lady Mai, stay still!" General Qin yelled to her while he asked the doctors to come closer to aid the young woman and help her stop the blood from leaving her body, the woman struggled, luckily for the soldiers she had no daggers left or so the killing would have started once again. "What's her situation? Is she critical?"

"She will live." Admitted the doctor while cleaning the zone and placing some bandages around Mai's neck. "But the damage at her throat is one that will never heal… the arrow was perfectly aimed, the one doing this to lady Mai didn't want to kill her but damage her forever, lady Mai will never speak again." Mai's eyes widened, she punched and kicked everyone away from her, she then tried to yell, and only a horrible groan came out, one that couldn't be described, one that forced even more blood to fall from her throat, she then cried hard with hatred and stared at the arrow responsible of her pain.

"Ughly!" She yelled being unable to control her voice and then broke the arrow in half out of annoyance, she then began attacking her own soldiers, imagining over and over again that she was hurting Ty Lee, the girl who ruined her, the person who handicapped her for life, she hated her, she loathed her, she wanted to kill her with her own hands, and as madness consumed her, she groaned once again in pain and hatred, as promising herself she wouldn't rest until killing the girl. "Ughly!"

* * *

"Mai?" Ty Lee's eyes widened and she woke up from her sleeping abruptly, somehow she could feel a strong pain at her chest as if something had tried to strip her from her soul, she of course ignored that feeling while once again laying down at her bed and trying to relax, the trip toward the North Pole had been a long one, and different from Sokka and Toph, her body couldn't stay awake for long, and so, she ended sleeping most of the trip since the crew left the Earth Kingdom after buying supplies. "I wonder if she is all right."

"How sweet is of you to worry about the girl who tried to kill you." Azula mentioned while entering the room, she was wearing her royal pajamas, which meant it was already night time, something Ty Lee wasn't aware of since she had sleep for several days while trying to recover from her wounds. "We hadn't had a moment to talk since your arrival… I mean a personal talk between former best friends."

"Azula, I still think you are my friend! A scary one, but still my friend!" She smiled while pulling her blankets and covering her body while shivering, she then searched all around the place for Toph, supposedly sharing the room with her, but found her nowhere. "Toph? Your highness? Where is Toph?"

"It depresses me a little… to know your whole attention belongs to a princess from a foreign nation… the Earth Princess is fine, she will spend the night at my room, I asked her for it so we could speak tonight…" Ty Lee nodded, she then rubbed her eye in laziness, and once that was done, she noticed Azula had approached to her in silence, enough for Ty Lee not to notice she was approaching. "Show me your eye."

"Eh?" Ty Lee complained, Azula just stared at her with determination. "I really don't like taking my eye patch off… it is a kind of nasty view… my eye hadn't healed entirely and just looking at my damaged eye is… well… disturbing…" Azula crossed her arms and gave her a cold stare, Ty Lee breathed out in defeat and took the eye patch off, revealing the milky colored eye, between brown and grey that she once had, there was a fine red line running thought it, cutting her pupil in half and breaking all the possibilities for that eye to ever see again, still, it moved down in depression mimicking her healthy eye. "I see nothing with this eye, for me it's much the same if I use or not the eye patch… only I hide the scar with it… you can say I want to hide that horrible part of me… after all, I was always proud of my beauty."

"…I don't like it…" Azula admitted while staring at her blind eye, Ty Lee nodded barely and then tried to place her eye patch on once again when Azula stopped her. "I heard from Sokka that you sacrificed your right eye for Toph, and also that you broke your left arm and some ribs… breaking a part of your body at such a young age is something that can't heal entirely."

"It's true… my left arm is weaker than the right one… but it isn't a weakness… none of my wounds is… becoming an archer helped me a lot, holding to my bow and tensing my left arm forced it to be strong… finding profundity with my left eye and aim gave me the eye of a hawk… my broken ribs healed fast and my body is now more flexible… I learned how to become stronger by using my wounds as an advantage… Sokka says I'm crazy, he thinks one day I will die for pushing my body so hard… but no matter what he says, I'm always ready to die if it means helping her highness to live another day." Azula was amazed; Ty Lee's devotion toward the Earth Princess was unbelievable. "Please don't be jealous."

"How can't I? That princess had stolen from me everything I ever loved… first it was my dear brother… then Sokka… then she took you away from me as well… even now if I asked you to come with me toward the Fire Nation and help into claiming the throne… I'm sure you would refuse…" Ty Lee nodded with a smile drawn on her face; Azula stared at her with an emotionless stare. "How can you smile after all that has happened? Is there nothing clouding your mind?"

"There is something…" Azula's emotionless stare was then replaced by one full with concern, Ty Lee then took from out of her bag a wooden made necklace, just as the ones the elder monks of the air temples wear. "After I escaped the Fire Nation with Sokka and Toph… we met this old monk, Gyatso… he took care of us and taught us each Air Nomad's techniques, but gave me more importance than Sokka and Toph since both of them were strong with their own abilities they now had… he said that I needed his teachings… he said being close to the Air Nomads would help me endure the pain… he taught me a lot, Anapanasati… Wind Chun Kuen to read the wind… and also… to respect life and find equilibrium… I have learned a lot more on my own… a little Aikido from Suki, a Kyoshi warrior… Baguazhang from some ancient scrolls… and Bo staff techniques from watching Yún in battle… but the teachings of Monk Gyatso are still the ones that are more important to me… even more than Jeong Jeong's ones and he taught me Chi Blocking… I'm afraid… that one day I will have to break Gyatso's teachings… one day I will have to kill to save her highness… and I don't want to… I have had to try countless of times, I hurt Mai deeply, but she will recover, I know she will, and if I, with all the martial arts I know, can't stop her… if I have to kill her… then I feel I will lose all humanity I have… every day I think about the probability… I'm a one girl army… unstoppable in the battle field, only two persons can defeat me in battle but only I can fight Mai… one day I will have to kill her for real." Ty Lee then began crying, Azula was never the soft hearted one, she actually hated the caring side she had developed while traveling with her uncle, but seeing her friend breaking into tears like this was heart breaking, she was about to try and comfort her when she heard the sound of running soldiers at the decks.

"Pirates!" One of Azula's soldiers yelled, Azula then surrounded her own hand with fire in annoyance but then noticed Ty Lee was already getting ready for battle, picking her bow and arrow bag up and then running toward the exit of her cabin.

"You will stay here!" Azula said while pointing at Ty Lee with her flame filled fist, only Ty Lee spun around avoiding Azula's hand and then moved her away rudely. "How dare you!" The Fire Princess yelled once Ty Lee had pushed her away with grace, Ty Lee just stopped her march and turned to face Azula. "I will have to order it to you then… stay here… you are badly injured, you can't possibly fight with that condition."

"I'm sorry." Ty Lee began, Azula stared at her. "Different to Sokka, my loyalty belongs to Earth Princess Toph Bei Fong… and even if my bones break… even if I lose my other eye… even if I have to sacrifice everything I love for… I will always protect my princess… even if it means disobeying you…" She finished and then turned around to run toward the deck, Azula followed her with annoyance evident in her face, once everyone was at the deck they all noticed the many pirate ships coming out from their hiding spots from behind of the icebergs, the ship was close to arriving to the North Pole, they were no longer in Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom seas, this was Water Tribe territory, and pirates used to attack their ships. "What's going on?"

"Ty Lee? You are awake?" Sokka asked, the girl smiled and nodded in agreement. "Think you can fight?" She nodded. "Fine, we will need all the help we can get, pirates are common sea thieves at these seas, they enjoy attacking the fishing ships of my tribe… any other ship entering the Water Tribe territories is immediately attacked and sank."

"Sounds like your people enjoy giving others warm welcoming." Said Toph while shivering and trying to warm herself, after all, she was wearing an Air Nomad's tunic and her arms were entirely exposed. "I really need some warming up exercises, or else I will freeze here!"

"You are not coming, remember you can't see on wood!" Toph moved her head in negation a good number of times, Sokka just took his cape off and placed it around the girl. "Seriously, stay away from this one."

"To hell with that! Even if I'm blind I can still fight, curse you Sokka! One would think you would know that already!" Sokka breathed out in defeat, Azula then pushed the couple away rudely. "What was that for?"

"This is my ship! And I give the orders here! Listen up soldiers! There are 3 ships trying to block our way to the Northern Water tribe! I want every bender…" But her words were interrupted when she noticed Sokka and Ty Lee were already climbing Eeleen and getting ready to board the ship, Toph followed them once placing some warm Fire Nation clothes, ones which were too big for her measures but enough to stop her constant shivering. "What do you think you are all doing?" Azula complained and then saw Bato running toward them with his Tiger-Wolf by his side and a giant looking bone lance.

"What does it looks like?" Yelled Sokka with a smile drawn on his lips. "Ready people?" The girls nodded, Bato just spun his bone lance and staved it against the metal floor, using it as a javelin to pull himself toward the pirate ship while his Wolf-Tiger jumped after him, upon landing, he began fighting the pirates on his own. "Hey! Not fair! We saw that ship first!" Eeleen then jumped to the ship and began fighting the pirates and preventing them from boarding the ship, Ty Lee jumped down and used her Chi Blocking to defeat the pirates, Toph joined her and used the Hung Gar to defend herself since she couldn't use her Earth Bending, Sokka also climbed down the Eel-Hound and began fighting the many sword pirates trying to kill him. "We got this ship! Azula! Burn the other ones! Hawky! Don't let any pirate board our ship!" The hack yelled and began scratching the faces of the pirates trying to board the ship while holding onto ropes, when the hawk attacked them they lost hold of the rope because of trying to cover their faces and ended in the cold water.

"You must admit they are doing an incredible work together." Iroh said while finally going out to the deck, Azula just blew her bangs of hair away of her face in annoyance. "By the way, Princess Azula… are you sure you should battle the pirates like this?" Iroh then pointed at her Pajama. "Should I suggest you to call the Rouge Rhinos and June for the battle?"

"I don't care! You take care of the pirates! I'm going back to sleep!" She yelled in annoyance and then walked inside of her ship, she then noticed June walking toward the deck with the Rouge Rhinos. "I knew there was a reason for you and your people not leaving for the Earth Kingdom when we hit land for supplies, you wanted more jobs, didn't you?"

"But of course, we always knew these seas were full with pirates, and since you pay so well, we decided to follow you." Azula bit her lips in annoyance, June just smiled. "I have a deal for you, I won't charge you this time if you allow me to take possession of any treasure the pirates may have in their ship." Azula nodded, June then pointed to her companions. "You heard our client! Get ready to board the next ship!" June then climbed her Shirsu, the Rouge Rhinos just readied their weapons. "Attack!" She yelled, and her Shirsu jumped to the other ship, her soldiers did the same and began battling the pirates.

"So much violence." The Fire Nation soldiers all waited for their orders while doing a reverence to General Iroh. "Allow them to have fun… as for the last ship, why wasting our time fighting when we can enjoy some delicious Sakura leaves tea? Please, allow me." Iroh then placed his hands in position and began spinning them around, he then launched a strong lighting based attack, hitting the approaching ship and breaking a hole at the lowest part, the ship then began sinking. "Wood made ships, very clever indeed, but metal works better, now, if you excuse me, my tea is getting cold." He said while walking away, all the soldiers just returned to their usual activities while they saw pirate after pirate being knocked down to the cold waters.

A few hours later, the sound of battle died down as Sokka kicked the Capitan of the ship toward the cold water, even Hawky had some fun fighting against the Reptile Bird the captain had, once everything was over, he commanded Ty Lee to help him with the wooden made bridge and placed it against the Fire Nation ship, they then walked while guiding Toph toward the metal made ship and were greeted by Azula, now back in her uniform. "Such a waste of our time, we could have destroyed or burned them without a fight, you know!"

"The fact is, we need the ship intact, that's the reason for boarding it." Sokka began, he then pointed at the pirate flag and Ty Lee ran back to the ship and climbed the ropes until reaching the flag and taking it off. "If the Northern Water Tribe sees a Fire Nation ship, they will attack, sailing a ship with no flag is much safer."

"Are you asking me to leave a Fire Nation Royal ship drifting away by the waves only to convince your people we don't wish to battle them?" Sokka nodded. "I think perhaps you don't understand the situation, you are our prisoner, and I will exchange you for my brother, once that is done, we are off to the Fire Nation."

"And back to the inferno that now is the capital of the Fire Nation?" Sokka asked, Azula bit her lips in annoyance. "You can't possibly claim your nation that easily, if a rebellion force couldn't, and they outnumbered your soldiers, I know because I was there, there is no way you and your so called elite soldiers can stand a chance against a whole nation, they will do to you the same they did to the rebellion, burn them while using Dragon-Hounds."

"…You think you are so smart… don't you…?" Sokka moved his shoulders up and down not knowing what to say. "…General… place some explosives at the lowest section of the ship, we are sinking it, take with you everything that is valuable but leave out armors and emblems behind, I don't want those savages to discover us, everyone else, once stripping of your armor and taking your belongings with you, search around the ships for clothes, we are going to disguise ourselves as mere merchants."

"Thanks for understanding!" Sokka said while smiling, only Azula pushed him away and walked inside of the pirate ship and toward the captain's cabin, all her soldiers went to do as they were told, even June asked the Rouge Rhinos to follow Sokka's idea. "Well, once we make it to the North Pole things could turn ugly, Bato, I will leave the talking to you, I will just place a disguise on, if they don't know the prince is back yet, maybe we will make it to the palace without making a whole scandal about the prophecy becoming true."

"How much longer are you going to ignore your heritage, Sokka." Toph said while crossing her arms and tapping her feet at the wooden made floor of the ship, Sokka just faced away. "Speak to me… I'm totally blind at wood."

"Sorry, it's just; things are going to be very different once reaching the North Pole… I guess I'm just afraid of what will happen…" Toph then searched for Sokka's hand with horrible aiming, Ty Lee noticed and then approached to the girl and took her hand, she then moved it toward Sokka's one, and once Sokka felt the sensation of Toph's hand, he turned around to see her. "Thanks… both of you." He said while giving Ty Lee a quick stare. "I'm gonna be very busy at the North Pole once we arrive, but at least I know you two will help me… and if not, I still have uncle Bato." He said while staring at the old but strong warrior getting the sails ready for the trip. "I'm finally going back home."

* * *

"Sangok… hey, Sangok… wake up already you lazy moron." Zuko kicked his night watch companion and finally woke him up, the teen about two years younger than Zuko just moved wildly after falling toward the cold snow and finally waking up. "Seriously Sangok… of all the members of the Water Tribe I have met in all my life, you are the clumsiest and laziest of them all, it's called night watch for a reason, and that is staying awake at nights."

"Come on Zuko, the pirates aren't as stupid as to attack our tribe, they only attack fishermen ships, other than that, when was the last time anything ever happened at these seas?" Zuko moved his head in negation once seeing how his companion laid down once again and tried to sleep. "Night watch is useless, there is no war between our tribe and the rest of the world, no one has reasons to attack us, remember we stayed neutral when the war began 400 years ago… oh wait… you are Fire Nation, you don't know about our history…"

"Sangok… shut up… I know even more than you do… and even if what you say is true, and nothing ever happens here, it is your duty as a member of the Water Tribe, so stand up and help me with the night watch." Sangok yawned hard and then stood up; he then faced toward the night sea from the top of their watchtower, although even if they wanted to see anything, the truth was it was too dark to even see a thing. "You heard that?"

"No, I didn't, Zuko, you are so paranoiac, the Koala-Otters are sleeping and the Turtle-Seals are inside of their caves and much likely doing the same… I know you never disobey princess Katara's orders, but in case you hadn't noticed, she gave you this assignment because she hates you… I mean, she even handpicked me to be your partner here." Sangok said with yet another yawn, he then hugged his bone lance and got ready to sleep once again.

"I know why she placed me here… ever since I told her the truth she had been avoiding me… but that changes nothing… I'm loyal to her, it is the less I can do for her after she saved my life, and you better stay away, remember my heart is fragile, if we both fall asleep then no one will protect the gates of the North Pole." Sangok moved his head in negation, he then pointed at the darkness of the sea.

"Please Zuko! This is the worst job ever heard off! I mean, night watch? Give me a break, you can't possibly tell the difference between there being a ship there or not! This is the North Pole! Nights here are different than at the Fire Nation, it is eternal darkness, you will see nothing until the sun rises." Zuko then formed a sphere of fire at his hand, Sangok flinched. "Zuko! You shouldn't be using your firebending! Remember your heart!"

"There is a ship there; I need to see if it is one of ours!" Sangok continued complaining, Zuko just ignored him and launched the fire sphere toward the sky, it then exploded and illuminated the place, even if it was for only a second, Zuko noticed the wooden made ship with no flag and saw the many figures sailing on top of it, his eyes then widened, at the front of the ship was Sokka, who stared at him with similar emotions. "Sangok! Open the gates!" Zuko ran toward the gates and pulled Sangok with him. "Do it or I will do it myself!"

"Zuko! What the hell are you saying? I mean, you proved your point! There is someone there, but they could be enemies! There is no fisher ship of our tribe that can fish at night! We even counted them all Zuko!" Zuko then pointed at the walls and asked Sangok to use his bending to open the ice walls. "Zuko, seriously buddy, I trust you, I always do, and you always place me in a lot of troubles, I mean, opening the gate to a lone ship? What if they are pirates?"

"Fine, if you won't help me, I will do it myself." Zuko then took his twin swords from out of his coat and surrounded them with flames, the ship was then once again visible, and many guards doing the night watch were waked up by the intense light of Zuko's bending, he then stabbed both swords at the huge wall of ice and tore it apart, Sangok jumped away scared and toward his watchtower an rang the bells of alert once he noticed the water entering the city and doing a whole disaster at the training grounds, Zuko's reckless actions had great consequences for opening the gates ignoring the procedure, Sokka's ship was also ragged inside of the city. "Sokka!" Yelled Zuko before coughing hard, he then ran his way toward the city and ignored his weak heart already complaining because of the effort, many soldiers of the Water Tribe took their weapons out and pointed them toward the arriving group now climbing the ship down and also placing themselves in battle postured, but it wasn't until Zuko jumped down to the ice when Sokka's attention was directed to him. "Sokka!" Upon hearing the name, everyone stared at the mercenary; they then all dropped their weapons and kneeled before him. "Thanks the spirits! It's you!" Zuko said and then stopped his running just in front of Sokka, the Water Tribe lost prince stared back at him. "…Look at yourself…" Zuko began while gasping for air. "You are still that same buffoon-faced idiot with the evil look on his eyes."

"Zuko?" Sokka said while staring at the gasping for air teen, Sokka then moved his head in negation several times as trying to wake up from a dream, only it wasn't a dream, but a reality. "Your hair! Your eye! Are you gasping for air?" Zuko nodded. "You weakling and stubborn prince! You are harder to kill than a Sea-Coach-Roach!" Sokka and Zuko then stared at one another, they then laughed hard and ignored it all and shared a hug, everyone was confused, the Water Tribe soldiers and the Fire Nation ones, they just stared at their respective prince as they made a fool of themselves. "Azula told me you were a prisoner here, but I didn't wanna believe it!"

"Prisoner? More like flirting your sister!" Zuko joked, but he then flinched. "My sister told you what?" Sokka returned the question, Zuko then noticed the girl behind of Sokka, he was then left speechless as he saw his sister after so long, staring at him with watery eyes and trying to keep her coolness.

"Wait! Where you flirting my sister?" Sokka said with annoyance, but he then noticed not only that Zuko was no longer listening to him, but that there was only one person not kneeling because of his arrival other than Zuko, that person was Katara, she had left with everyone else once she heard the walls of her city breaking. "…Katara…?"

"So… Sokka?" The girl began, Sokka then approached the girl as if being the victim of a trance, Zuko did the same but toward his sister, not really knowing what to do or say.

"Zu… Zuzu…?" Everyone held their laughter; Zuko just moved his head in negation and smiled. "You idiot! You got any idea of how worried and lonely I was without you!" Zuko ignored her and pulled her into a hug.

"Sokka, you awful brother! You promised! You said you were never going to leave me alone!" Sokka also ignored his sister and pulled her into a strong hug, both brothers and sisters then sobbed, after so long, they were finally reunited, everyone else just stared at them with confusion, minus Sokka's mercenary groups, who just smiled, even Toph smiled even when not knowing what was going on since she was unable to leave the ship because of being blind and wearing several clothes to cover herself from the cold. "My brother is back! I missed you so much! Sokka! It's being so long!"

"I'm glad to be back home." He said and then broke the hug, he then turned around and kneeled, everyone was surprised for that last. "Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation." The teen was then forced to break his hug against Azula, he then faced Sokka and smiled. "…I feel so stupid, I don't even know what I'm supposed to do or say…"

"You just don't feel stupid but are really stupid." He said while offering his hand to Sokka, the Water Tribe prince took it and accepted the help. "You are going to get my head cut off, I'm no longer the Fire Nation prince… I'm now a slave of the Water Tribe looking to hide his status while serving his princess and prince… Sokka, now it is I who kneels before you." He kneeled, Sokka smiled.

"Stupid, there is no way I'm going to ever treat you as a slave and you know it." Both then began laughing, but only for a second before facing their respective companions, Zuko the Water Tribe soldiers, and Sokka the Fire Nation ones. "It seems like we have a lot of explaining to do."

* * *

Several hours later, and once the confusion was dealt with, Katara ordered many Water Tribe soldiers to give the group some suitable clothes for the low temperatures, and while every soldier of the Fire Nation and Toph changed into warm clothes, Katara kept yelling at Zuko none stopping. "The impenetrable walls of the Water Tribe destroyed by your reckless actions! Disrespecting a Water Tribe prince! Invading my lands with your soldiers! I should cut your head off for such insolence, Zuko!"

"Sokka! You better tell your sister to stop yelling at my brother! Otherwise I swear I will declare war toward your savage's tribe! After all, we already entered your walls!" Azula said while Sokka tried to ignore her as he placed some boots at Toph's freezing feet, the girl was forced to this because of the low temperatures and in order to avoid getting sick. "This is ridiculous! I'm a Fire Nation princess! I should be glorified!"

"Ow, shut up Azula! If it is about tittles, then don't forget I'm the Earth Princess!" Toph yelled in annoyance, Azula stared at her with hatred. "And I am as annoyed at this situation as you are, I was supposed to stay at Air Nomad's territories until I was 16, but no, your nation had to declare was to the Air Nomads!"

"I suggest all of you just shut up right now." Everyone then directed their looks toward the person speaking to all of them like that, they then saw Chief Arnnok, the tribal chief of the Water Tribe, of course many didn't know him, but Sokka and Zuko made a reverence to him as he arrived. "Sokka… for many, this may look like the day of the prophecy coming true, but the reality says different, a lot had happened in such a short time, and as the leader of the Water Tribe, I shouldn't tolerate such behavior from the supposed prince who will unify all nations… I suggest you start behaving before I ask my soldiers to take our supposed guests as prisoners."

"Father, don't be rude, remember you are speaking to my fiancé." Toph's blind eyes widened as she heard the voice of Yue, the girl Sokka was promised to since the day of his birth, Sokka also reflected similar feelings after seeing the girl who was supposedly selected to be his queen since the day of their births. "If I may suggest something, I may have a political solution for this dilemma… my maids are carrying with them some special clothes, we must treat our guests with the hospitality they deserve, but just if you would be as kind as to allow me to expose my idea, father."

"Just great, the little princess thinks she can pretend to be a princess." Azula complained, Zuko just stared at her with disappointment. "What? I traveled all the way here with the Water Tribe Prince as my prisoner; you didn't believe I was going to be all peaceful like toward these savages."

"You must be Azula, the princess of the Fire Nation, please, the clothes that were given to you aren't suitable to your status, once we reach the palace please change into these royal clothes." She said while handing a red cloak to Azula, the girl just stared at her with confusion. "Each member of royalty should wear clothes like these when meeting our leaders, Zuko, there is one for you as well, and one for the person you select as your and the princess Ambassador." She said while staring at Ty Lee, who pointed at herself in confusion.

"Wait, Yue, what are you planning? Remember I'm no member of royalty, I'm a slave." Yue moved her head in negation; she then gave a red coat to Zuko and one for Ty Lee. "Princess Katara will never allow this." Katara nodded, Yue smiled.

"Princess Katara is the princess of the Southern Water Tribe, and she can give orders only with my royal permission, Katara, never forget you are only a guest, your real tribe is an extinct one, you can't complain." Katara then bit her lips in annoyance and remained in silence. "I also have a special tunic for the Earth Kingdom princess, I'm sorry it's too big for your measures, but once we reach the palace we will fix it."

"What if I say I don't want to have anything to do with you?" Toph said while crossing her arms in annoyance since she already knew Yue's voice so well and knew who she was, the princess of the Water Tribe promised to the person she loved the most. "Let's say I refuse to accept your hospitality, your tribe and my kingdom had been in war for more than 400 years after all." Yue just placed her hand at Toph's cheeks, the warm feeling forced Toph to blush and accept the offer. "Fine! But I'm the only Earth Kingdom here, I have no Ambassador."

"That's where you are wrong; there are 3 other Earth Kingdom members here." June added proudly while walking toward Yue and taking a green tunic from her hands. "But, since one is a mad scientist and the other one is too young, I guess I will be your Ambassador." Yue nodded, she then walked toward Bato and Sokka and gave tunics to them as well.

"Thanks for not mentioning Teo's incapacity… I hate it when people points incapacities out." Toph admitted, June smiled. "But that doesn't mean I have to trust you… my last Ambassador used to say people were greedy and always looking for a position of power."

"I declare myself guilty." June admitted and then took Toph's hand. "But to where I know, you don't have much of a choice." Toph nodded, she then allowed June to walk her toward the palace.

"Yue… I don't know what is going on… I mean, this is all too sudden, and I still haven't seen my father, and in case you have forgotten, we were promised since the day of our birth, I doubt all this is going to end well…" Sokka admitted while taking on his hand a blue and black coat, Yue just smiled. "I'm not sure about this."

"Please Sokka, this is important, right now it isn't the time to get to know one another, even after I have been waiting to meet my fiancé for so long, so please, stop complaining and help me with this, otherwise, Chief Arnnok won't lend you his aid." Sokka nodded, he then walked with Katara and Bato toward the palace.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Prince Zuko was at his new room and tying the royal tunic he now wore, it was very similar to a Water Tribe coat, but red and black instead of blue and white, also, it was made with a different type of fur that shined with luxury as the morning sunrays hit the crimson red fur, it had been so long since Zuko felt anywhere near royal like, but this many adorns he now wore, such as a golden ring with the Fire Nation emblem and gold made belts tying his boots, made him feel uncomfortable. "This is probably too much for being a Water Tribe Slave… it wasn't this easy for Sokka when he was my slave…"

"Well, we shine with royalty, big brother." Azula said while entering the room, she was now wearing a similar coat than the one Zuko was; only hers had a long skirt instead of pants. "If you laugh about the skirt, I swear to you I will challenge you to Agni Kai." Zuko gave Azula a weak smile, the girl just walked to him in silence and stood next to him, she then took an object from her tunic and gave it to Zuko, it was the Silver Crown Zuko gave to Sokka when he used to live at the fire Nation. "Peasant boy told me to give this to you."

"A crown… even if it isn't the real one, I'm not sure if I feel like wearing it again… I love the Fire Nation, but I can no longer return there, not with my weak heart, not after all that had happened here." Azula ignored Zuko and pulled his hair rudely; she then fixed it and tied it, finally placing the crown at Zuko's head. "What was that for?"

"Shut up! You were stripped from your royal title by our father, I am still a princess, so I'm giving you back the title of prince, with one condition, I'm the heir to the throne." Zuko stared at Azula with disbelief, the girl just smiled evilly at him. "So, once we return to our nation, I will be Fire Empress, and you a prince, just as our father did to take the position away from Uncle Iroh." Zuko moved his head in negation; both then heard the door being knocked softly.

"Umm… excuse me, Fire Princess Azula, and, Fire Prince Zuko… but…" Ty Lee said while entering the room, she blushed once being forced to wear such embarrassing clothes, very similar to Azula's ones, even with the long skirt, but the color of her outfit was more between pink than red and she was stripped of her ponytail, something that forced Zuko to blush at her, she looked so lady-like despite wearing an odd eye patch with the drawing of a rose on it. "I hate this eye patch so much… but returning to the subject… as royal Ambassador to the Fire Nation representatives… I have to advise you for peace instead of war."

"Ty Lee, I never thought I was ever going to see this girly side of yours, I mean, you were always girly enough, but this is just impressive, I mean, look at Zuko, he is wetting his royal outfit with saliva." Zuko moved his head in negation and cleaned his mouth. "Anyway, war or peace, I will decide it later, for now let's just take part on this meeting with the savages."

"Azula." Zuko began; Azula just rolled her eyes in annoyance. "It's true the Southern Water Tribe was savage… but during the 400 years the Northern Water Tribe avoided war, it had evolved, their manners are even greater than ours… maybe even better than the ones of the Earth Kingdom, so please stop it."

"Says so the boy with the weak heart, I always knew you had a soft spot Zuko, even before father cut your heart in half." Zuko stared at Azula with hatred; Ty Lee noticed and placed herself in the middle.

"As royal Ambassador I think you two should stop it!" She yelled nervously, Azula yawned and then walked away, Ty Lee then stared at Zuko. "Zuko, I don't know what your heart problem is, but maybe… just maybe, I can help you heal that wound of your heart, for a long while I have been following the monk's teachings, one of them is the Anapanasati, if you learn it, even if you only have half a healthy heart, you will be able to do everything you could before, and even more!" She said with a cheerful smile on her lips, Zuko blushed at such smile, and once noticing Zuko's blush, Ty Lee blushed as well. "…I… better get going… we will talk about this later…" She then rushed out of the room. "…Wha… wha-what am I doing? First it was Sokka, and now Zuko? Gosh! Will I ever learn not to flirt with royalty? But for the love of the spirits, why do they have to be this handsome looking?" And at the other side of the door, Zuko was feeling similar emotions.

"…Was it because of my heart's weakness… or did I really felt my heart stopping because of Ty Lee…?" Zuko moved his head several times in negation. "First Toph, then Katara, and now Ty Lee… I need to stop blushing around those girls…"

* * *

"Well, I'm not that into beauty and stuff, but dear princess, you look so beautiful with that style." June said while brushing Toph's hair and forcing half of her hair to cover one of her eyes, just like June's hair style, only in Toph it looked innocent and didn't mess with her view since Toph couldn't see anyway, the only problem was it tickled her nose. "Now, look at yourself at the mirror and tell me what you think."

"Yeah… as if I could." She said while waving her hand in front of her face, June just ignored her and instead continued fixing her coat. Toph's royal outfit was very different than the Fire Nation one Azula was forced to wear, at the Earth Kingdom they used very different clothing styles, Toph's clothes were very warm and comfortable, even she had to admit it. She was now wearing a one pieced green dress made with fur, it was adorned with various carvings of different flowers at the end of her skirt and boarded with yellow string before reaching the cotton corners, her arms were also covered by the green fur but adorned at the ends with fluffy cotton just as it was in the end of her skirt, down the long sleeves she wore green gloves that uncovered her fingertips, allowing the girl to sense vibrations of objects with her fingers, around her neck was a yellow scarf, adorned with the emblem of the Earth Kingdom at each corner, and on top of it and around her neck was the artifact Sokka had presented to her, the one she usually wore as an armband, only it was bended to be a black necklace instead, on top of her head she wore a silver tiara with green jewels, and at her waist a belt also adorned with matching jewels. "I feel so fancy."

"You look fancy, princess, different to this outfit they gave to me… first of all, I hate green, I'm more of dark colors… wait, I suppose you don't know what colors are, well, let's just say this is so not my style." She said while seeing her reflex by the mirror, her clothes were very similar to Ty Lee's ones, only of a greenish color between jade and white, different from Toph's one who was emerald. "Well, let's go." She said while kicking her skirt around trying to walk. "Fancy girls, I always hated them." June then heard and odd sound and turned around to see what it was, Toph had just slammed herself with the door. "Oh, right, you are blind… give me your hand."

"No way!" She complained and then followed June. "If only I had Hawky to help me with this, everything would be much easier, but since it's so cold here and he is sealed in the barns with Eelen and close to many fires to warm their bodies and help them survive, I need to learn how to move around this terrain on my own, the boots don't help much thought."

"If I have learned anything about blindness is that there is always a way, I heard you used vibrate sensing, but a lot of blind people use different ways, such as blind canes or guiding by sounds, my Shirsu also guides by her nose." Toph crossed her arms in annoyance, June just smiled. "You will find a way, until then, give your hand to me."

"Curses! The only person I ever allowed to take care of me like this was Ty Lee, but I guess I don't have that much of a choice, but if someone asks, you offered your help and I'm paying you for it!" She yelled annoyed, June smiled.

"Well, for now it's free service, but in the future I expect a payment." She admitted, Toph grunted, they then made their way to the main hall of the palace.

* * *

"From Prince of the Water Tribe to slave… from slave to peasant, from peasant to royal bodyguard, from royal bodyguard to close friend of the royal family, then to aspiring knight, then to refugee and from refugee to mercenary, from mercenary I became a traveler in seek of knowledge, and from traveler to general in a battlefield, then a short while as a pirate, but finally becoming a prince once again… the more times I repeat the story of my life the bigger it goes… only right now I returned to the same title everything started from." Sokka said while staring at his reflex by the mirror, he then made a mockery at his new outfit, a Sueded Leather Tunic that sort of looked like his old one, but this one was black colored with blue and long sleeves, a blue belt tied around his waist and the emblem of the Water Society, new name of his tribe, printed at the back and at the belt, it was a nice outfit for royalty, but Sokka didn't like it since it won a lot of attention. "Do I really have to wear this?" He questioned the arriving Katara while he faced the crystal doors of their palace.

"Well, you were chosen the future prince of the Water Society since the day of your birth, Sokka, you were blessed by the spirits so you would fulfill this part of the prophecy, the awaited marriage between the spirit of La and the spirit of Tui in human form, their blessed union bringing eternal unification to the members of both tribes… it is your destiny." Sokka hated the role he was born to fulfill; he hated it even more while staring at the arm band he once wore, now unable to do it because of the long sleeves of his new tunic. "I have wanted to ask you since the moment you arrived… but… it hurts me to do it… is that necklace you wear…"

"It's our mother's necklace." Sokka added without thinking about it twice, Katara's eyes widened, she was then about to break into tears. "Mother had a happy life, a dear friend and master of mine told me she lived longer than what she was supposed to, but died because of the war erupting, her heart couldn't take it… I'm just glad Zuko was there for her."

"Zuko?" Sokka nodded, Katara just closed her hand into a fist at the mention of that name. "I will never forgive that stupid slave for what he did to you and our mother… he should be punished, he should suffer… stealing our mother from us, forcing you to slavery… so… despicable." Tears of hatred fell from her eyes, Sokka noticed but smiled for Katara. "How can you smile like this when you know what he did?"

"Zuko saved me." Katara stared at Sokka with disbelief, Sokka just continued trying to fix his hair into the usual wolf tail he always wore, but no matter how many times he tried to fix it, his hair wasn't long enough anymore due to Mai cutting it several days ago, so he gave up and allowed his hair to be free. "You may never understand it, Katara, but even when I was Master Piandao's and Zuko's slave, I was kinda happy… they gave me a home, maybe mother wasn't by my side but I knew she had a good life, Zuko told me… I could have spoken to mother more but… I was afraid of seeing her… but I was happy to know she was ok and healthy…"

"Healthy? She died exhausted because of her hard work as a slave!" Sokka once again moved his head in negation; Katara bit his lips in annoyance. "She was sick and died out of depression… you know it… you just don't want to admit it."

"Katara… mother died in front of my eyes… I closed her eyes myself… she died with a smile." Katara's eyes watered even more, tears finally fell from her eyes as she could no longer take it, she pulled her brother into a strong hug, Sokka hugged her back. "An old woman named Madam Wu once told me I should give my mother's necklace to that person I loved the most… I always thought that person was Toph, but I now understand it is a different kind of love…" Sokka said while taking his mother's necklace off and placing it around Katara's neck, the girl felt the warm sensation of the object, just as if her mother's spirit was embracing her and healing all her hatred. "As long as you wear this necklace… no illness will ever hit you… such is the power of our mother wishing our welfare from the world of the spirits." Katara nodded and once again hugged Sokka, he hugged her back. "The family is finally together."

* * *

"The prophecy is being fulfilled, our prince, Sokka, finally returned to our people, he will surely follow his mother's steps and become a great leader for our tribe, I couldn't be prouder than I am now." Hakoda admitted while admiring the palace of the Water Tribe, It was an amazing view, the walls of ice and white stone had the emblem of the Water Society carved in straight lines one after the other. Ice made sculptures of sea creatures were carefully placed around the hall of the castle, huge columns of ice with incredible designs were hitting the ceiling which was made of shiny crystals which kept the halls illuminated even at night time with a soft blue light. "This castle never ends to amaze me… when we used to fight at the Water Tribe, we rarely saw something this fancy, it was always some kind of snow fortress or ice made barracks… if I know Sokka as well as I think I know him, all this luxury will surely end breaking his mind apart."

"Hakoda, as much as I want to admit the prophecy turning a reality is imminent… I have my doubts about your son actually taking over the responsibility your wife once had… he is the first no bender leader we have… I have my doubts about him fulfilling what was prophesized." Master Pakku said while walking by Hakoda's side as the group made it toward a couple of huge metal doors that were opened to them as they approached the soldiers guarding the entrance, inside of the room was a crystal made hall with a long and crystal table close to the entrance, in front of it were three thrones, one in which Chief Arnnok was, and empty one where Master Pakku sat by the right of the chief, and at the last one was Princess Yue, the girl played nervously with her fingers. "Chief, Princess, a pleasure to see you both again."

"Master Pakku, it's good to know you found some free time on your ever busy agenda of training our soldiers." Arnnok added, Hakoda just rolled his eyes at the talking style his leaders had, very different from the one of his tribe. "War Ambassador Hakoda, I do hope your blood relationship with the one of the prophecy won't interfere in your decision."

"That's not for me to judge, Chief Arnnok." Hakoda admitted and then faced the metal doors as he saw the many guests, all members of luxurious families at the Northern Water Tribe or elders of their people, entering the room and walking to the corners and surrounding the place. "I'm never going to get used to this, while the Southern Water Tribe degenerated and grew wilder all because of the war, the peaceful Society of the Northern Water Tribe grew wealthy and powerful by staying neutral."

"But our wealthiest is our biggest weakness." Chief Arnnok added. "If you think about it carefully, our people would easily fall in war, we have no real army, only a bunch of people who began training a couple of years ago, engaging in war with any culture would be a tragedy to our society, if you keep that in mind, it's only natural the leader of our society, who will lead our culture to peaceful times, is destined to be a Southern Water Tribe warrior." Hakoda nodded. "However… it is something we must judge… remember the chosen one was unable to pass La's Judgment."

The sound of claps was then heard as Sokka finally entered the room, followed by Katara and Bato, both now wearing royal outfits as well, but nowhere near outstanding as Sokka's one. "With you, ambassador Bato of the Southern Water Tribe, Princess Katara of the Water Society, and Prince Sokka of the Water Society!" More claps filled the room, both Bato and Sokka gulped hard at the feeling, Katara just made a reverence, both Bato and Sokka exchanged looks and both made a reverence as well, only when everyone noticed it they made a lower reverence.

"Sokka! Stop it! If the Prince makes a reverence, his people is forced to do one, no one can ever stand taller than the prince of the Water Society!" Katara yelled in a whisper, Bato then keeled when hearing that last, allowing Sokka to stand taller. "That's not what I meant, Bato! You two just sit at your thrones!" Katara yelled again, Sokka nodded and sat down, everyone else in the room then did the same, Hakoda was even forced to kneel as a knight in the presence of his king. "Now, remain in silence and don't do anything."

"With you, ambassador Ty Lee of the Fire Nation, Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation and Fire Lady Azula of the Fire Nation." Everyone stayed in silence, it was something that disgusted Sokka, everyone hated the Fire Nation, they had their reasons of course, but it still disgusted him, and so he did something no one ever expected, he stood up and made a reverence, Katara, Bato and everyone else noticed and doubted, but they all then stood up and made a reverence toward the arriving group, Zuko, Azula and Ty Lee delivered the reverence back to Sokka, and once that was done, Sokka sat down and everyone did the same.

"What was that for?" Katara yelled hard in annoyance and then stared at his brother who just rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Thanks for what you did, Sokka… but it surely was an uncomfortable experience." Zuko admitted while staring at Sokka, who nodded but remained in silence.

"Everyone is looking at us! It's so… annoying… and scary… I'm not sure I can take the pressure." Ty Lee admitted while sweating hard, Zuko faced her and blushed madly at the view; Katara noticed and blushed madly as well but with hatred against Zuko, although she had no idea of the reason. "Aw… there were so many Fire Nation Soldiers inside our ship… why did it have to be me the ambassador? I mean, uncle Iroh would have been a better choice."

"As an advisor, uncle Iroh does nothing but be a bother and talk about his tea… I'm more than happy to have someone else as my ambassador, especially if that someone is Ty Lee, who shares a close relationship with the Earth Princess and the Prince of the Water Society." Everyone was surprised to hear that last, it was the first time ever Azula acknowledged Sokka and Toph as members of high society, it was surely something unnatural.

"With you…" The announcer began while staring oddly at the soldier who came to inform him, he nodded nervously and then continued. "War Advisor Theodore the Mechanist…" Everyone blinked twice when seeing the now proclaimed War Advisor entering the room while wearing some fancy green clothes. "…Ambassador June of the Earth Kingdom…" The woman walked inside proudly while holding her laughter. "…Royal Mascot Hawky… Seeing-Eye-Red-Ribbon-War-Hawk…" The announcer said nervously. "And Princess Toph Bei Fong of the Earth Kingdom." Toph then entered the room with Hawky at her shoulder, the bird was now wearing some warm clothes specially fixed for the bird to survive the low temperatures, everyone began whispering at the odd introduction and at the buffoonish behaviors of the Earth Princess, but then Zuko and Sokka both stood up and made a reverence, everyone else did the same.

"What is your girlfriend thinking?" Zuko asked between lips. "Remember the relationship between our kingdoms isn't good, much less the one with the Earth Kingdom, such behavior won't be tolerated."

"They will have to tolerate it because I say so." Sokka answered. "But it's true, this situation worries me a little… but…" Sokka gulped. "I'm more worried about myself right now; I can no longer concentrate… Toph looks so… pretty…"

"Tell me about it, I stare at Ty Lee every now and then." Katara, who was in the middle of both, then stomped on both of their feet in annoyance, both complained but then turned around and sat, everyone else in the room followed. "What was that for?" Zuko yelled in a whisper.

"I don't know… I just felt like doing it." Katara said while staring at Zuko with annoyance, but being unable to erase the blush of her face. "You two idiots better concentrate."

"Agreed…" Azula added with an evil smirk on her face, Zuko just flinched at the view. "You will have more time to flirt with Ty Lee when this meeting is over."

"Wait… flirt who?" Ty Lee yelled in a whisper and then blushed madly, Zuko did the same, Toph just smacked her in the head as she passed by. "Her highness?"

"Never call me that again." Toph said. "Hawky… to the chair." The hawk then pulled her hair and guided the blind girl to the chair. "Face the leaders." Hawky pulled once again toward the direction of the chief, the princess, and the elder, Toph then made a reverence. "Reverence." She ordered the hawk and he lowered his head in reverence. "And now we sit." She said while trying to reach the chair with no luck since she was totally blind, luckily for her, Hawky pulled her hair asking Toph to reach it farther in front of her, and once she took the chair, she drew it on her mind by feeling the vibrations and then sat on it. "We are still working on it."

"Very impressive, my princess." June said while clapping her hands silently to her, Toph just smiled and then 'faced' the direction of the leaders of the Water Society while rubbing Hawky's feathers.

"With you…" Everyone at the table blinked twice, they then all turned around to see the doors, minus Toph who couldn't see anyway. "Monk Elder Pasang of the Air Nomads…" Toph blinked twice in surprise, a smile then appeared on her lips. "Ambassador Yún of the Air Nomads, and Avatar Aang!" Sokka and everyone else then stood up and made a reverence to the arriving group, they then sat at their chairs and waited.

"It's good to see you all finally reunited." Yún confessed, everyone stared at her. "We arrived on Appa a couple of days ago, only we wanted to keep it as a surprise, after all, Monks don't like showing off." She added with a smile, everyone returned it, even Toph, who wasn't facing her.

"The four who are being watched by the spirits are finally reunited in the same room; the eyes of the world of the spirits now are placed against our society!" Yue yelled happily, the room was then filled with cheers, everyone at the crystal made table exchanged looks, some who knew nothing about the legend such as Theodore and June remained in silence. "Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, he who will bring Judgment, Prince Sokka of the Water Society, he who will seek Equilibrium, Ambassador Yún of the Air Nomads, she who will bring Hope, and finally, Princess Toph Bei Fong of the Earth Kingdom, the child of destiny whose eyes are the widow the spirits use to see our world." The only one knowing the complete version of the tale was Toph, the child of destiny, everyone else was surprised by the revelation. "Water, Fire, Wind and Earth, the four elements, the four seasons, the four chosen ones, all of them reunited here to fulfill the prophecy… it was foretold this reunion would take place, only when and where was never mentioned, with the four of you here, as representation of your own cultures, we can finally have peace… Judgment, Equilibrium, Hope and Destiny… we bless your arrival."

"But we still question your intentions." Chief Arnnok added, he then stood up; everyone in the room did the same. "It was prophesized you would arrive, but what will you do was never mentioned by the spirits, all we know is the four of you will be the ones responsible for the fate of the four cultures… but what kind of fate? Or prophecies speak of the child of Equilibrium Leading our armies to victory… but I ask, is that really what we want? After 400 years of peace, we will follow a prophecy in favor of war?"

"With all respect, I never asked to be the one to seek Equilibrium." Sokka said while standing up, Avatar Aang just held his laughter while noticing the impulsive behavior, very similar to the one of another Sokka he knew. "But I will do what I must, we have discovered many things during our travels, Bato escaped the Earth Kingdom and spoke to me about a massive invasion, an invasion that we saw and fought at during the fall of the Southern Air Temple." Zuko was surprised to hear that last, no one had had the time to explain the situation to him, such revelation was breath taking. "The invasion began, and it will continue until arriving to our borders… but we found a date on a calendar, given to us by allies who much likely sacrificed their lives at the capital of the Fire Nation, it is the date of a point in history when the Fire Nation was defeated by our people, almost 100 years ago, I am a warrior by nature, but I dislike pushing a peaceful civilization toward war, but if needed be to save my people, then so be it!"

"With all respect, I wish to speak." Zuko said, everyone stared at him, not with hatred but with concern, Zuko had lived at the Water Tribe for so long, he was already part of their society, seeing him wearing red and the emblems of the Fire Nation was disgusting to the many seeing him. "For many years… the emblem of the Fire Nation meant slavery… Sokka… he and I met when he was sold as a slave to my nation." Everyone gasped for air at such revelation, Zuko just continued. "But please, the mission that was commended to me… judge… I made my judgment, and I stood against the beliefs of my nation, to find freedom, and to make sure the emblem of my nation never again is a synonym of slavery! I will stand firm against my own nation, and aim for times of peace."

"The Fire Nation attacked the Southern Air Temple; it is a sin that will not be tolerated by the spirits!" Yún spoke out; Zuko began sweating hard because of his weak health and his worried state against Yún's words. "But as a fellow culture who stayed neutral during the times of war, I, as representation of my culture, have decided to trust the prince and princess of the Fire Nation, and aim toward times of peace, we of the Air Nomad's tribe, have hope in the judgment of the Fire Nation Prince, and have hope in the Prince of the Water Society in seeking equilibrium, it is our destiny to stay together, not be enemies."

"So now I suppose you want me to add some encouraging words?" Toph directed a smirk toward nowhere, but every single eye was directed at the young Earth Princess. "Ever since I was born I was told, Water Tribe savages should be our slaves, Air Nomads are weaklings who live in solitude, and the Fire Nation is a low rated culture, but as a five years old, I never cared about what was said, I just know something… when my people was attacked by the Water Tribe at the capital of our kingdom, Ba Sing Se… my life was saved by Sokka… when I was forced to live at the Fire Nation because of my father's illness, and when my spirit was shattered in pieces by my Master being accused of high treason and imprisoned… Zuko was there to help me and heal me… when I seek for refugee at the Air Temples, it was only because of Yún that I was accepted and taught the ways of the monks… maybe I'm blind, but I can see perfectly that our cultures alone can't exist… isn't that the reason of there being four different cultures? To complete the others? I don't care about what you people think, all I know is one day I will claim the throne of the Earth Kingdom, and once I do, I want Sokka, Zuko, Yún and all my friends by my side, I don't care how, I don't care when, I just know I want that to happen, and I will fight for it, hear that spirits? That's what I want and I don't care of what you think… I guess that's my destiny."

There was silence in the room, the four chosen ones had spoken their ideals and nothing was left to say but wait for Chief Arnnok's reaction and decision, the Chief then stood up and stared at the members at the table, for a long while nothing was said, but then Arnnok nodded, giving hope to the four who spoke to the Water Society. "If these are the words of those who will be our future leaders, then there is no denying the prophesy meant well, and that the day of purification means the unification of our people… if there is war in the future, then so be it… if there is peace in the future… then so be it… the Water Society, who stood neutral for many years, will now be led by the one who will seek equilibrium, whatever happens from now and on, let it be judged by the spirits." Chief Arnnok then kneeled, everyone else in the room kneeled as well, and so, the only ones standing where the four chosen ones, even Azula and the Avatar had kneeled before them.

"I appreciate your acceptance." Sokka said and then stared at Yue, the girl just stood up and smiled at him. "With all respect… there is more I need to say…" Everyone stared at Sokka, he then kindly asked everyone to sit while he spoke. "I understand I was asked by the spirits to be the one to seek equilibrium, and I accept my duty… I also accept that I have failed La's Judgment and still need to prove myself worthy of the title of chosen one of equilibrium, and promise to do everything in my power to be the person everyone wishes me to be… but speaking about promises… there are promises to be kept… I have done many promises in my life, and so far I believe I have broken none… but in order to accept my duty as the Water Society Prince, I'm being asked to break an important promise I made…" He said while staring at Toph, the girl just lowered her face. "But if I broke that promise… I will fail not only me but my people… that's why… I refuse to break that promise… call me selfish but I refuse."

"What?" Toph asked in surprise and then tried to face Sokka's direction, to Sokka's surprise, Toph managed to get the blind stare right, her eyes seemed to be directed at his own. "Don't be stupid… it was a childhood's promise… there is no reason for you to keep it… it was only… a kid's game…" She said while lowering her face, Sokka just smiled and then faced Yue.

"Yue… ever since I was a kid… I dreamed about the day of meeting the girl I was promised to… only to find out it's not what I wanted." He admitted, Yue lowered her face. "I'm sorry… but I already know who I wish to marry in the future, and that person is the Princess of the Earth Kingdom… Toph Bei Fong." Many whispers where then heard, and Sokka knew he had broken more than one heart with that revelation, it was evident in Yue's face as well as in the one of Azula, and Ty Lee, who despite not wanting to admit it, and knowing the fact of her now having a new crush, felt her heart shattering at such revelation. "I'm sorry."

"Everything is fine!" Yue added with a smile, everyone then went into silence. "I kind of knew it was going to happen, so I never placed my hopes too high… I accept your declining." She then made a reverence. "I aoreciate your sincerity, Prince Sokka of the Water Society… but then… I think you need to make your promise official, which is if my father accepts having a formal announcement!" She added cheerfully, Arnnok just nodded.

"I'm surely going to have a hard time getting used to the formalities… good thing Piandao taught me a lot." Sokka told to himself, he then stared at Toph, June, by Toph's side, just hit Toph's shoulder and asked her to stand up, and once she did, Sokka began. "…I… Prince Sokka of the Water Tribe… no, that's not how it goes… I will start over…" Silence once again, he was shaking hard and had no idea of what to say. "I, Prince Sokka of the Water Society… had already chosen a bride… I… I… this isn't working…"

Toph stood up and walked toward Sokka, she could do it without even needing Hawky's aid, Zuko just smiled to himself after noticing the forever blushing face she had, Ty Lee felt tears drowning her only useful eye, and Azula just faced away in annoyance, Katara just pressed her mother's necklace strongly. Toph cleared her throat; everyone in the room directed their attentions toward the blind Earth Princess as well as toward Sokka. "…Do you…" She gulped and blushed madly. "…Really mean this…? I mean… it was selfish of me to ask it from you… and I was just a crybaby little girl…" She said with tears appearing on the corners of her eyes. "…I know I said I wanted you to keep that promise but I…"

"Toph Bei Fong… I wish you to be my wife…" She gulped harder than ever, she then felt how Sokka placed his armband at her hand, she then approached it toward the necklace she now wore and bended both parts, giving it the form of a wedding necklace and combining the emblems of both of their cultures into one. "Will you be my wife?"

"I think this spokes for itself." She added while facing away, only Sokka forced her to 'stare' back at him and face him, she gulped, Sokka wouldn't leave without the proper answer. "I will." She said with a tear rolling down her cheek, Sokka smiled and then leaned closed to her and pressed his lips again hers, the deep silence was then broken by Zuko and Ty Lee both clapping their hands to the couple, everyone else in the room followed.

"It's official! It's official!" Ty Lee could no longer hold her excitement, she ran toward the couple and pulled Toph into a hug while interrupting their kiss, she then began spinning the young princess around and hugging her hard, then kissing the princess's cheeks happily. "Her highness, I'm so happy! And so sad at the same time, but still so happy! Wah! Now I really have no chance! I mean, I'm so happy!"

"Ty Lee! You are once again my ambassador! Leave the Earth Princess alone!" Azula yelled in annoyance once noticing Ty Lee's whole attention once again belonged to Toph and not her. "Whatever… congratulations I guess…" She said a little disappointed.

"Well… I saw it coming for a long while…" Yún admitted to herself, Avatar Aang just placed his hand at the girl's shoulder understanding the meaning of her words. "But seeing it warms my heart."

"Ty Lee, stop hugging me so hard! If you don't I swear I will declare was to your nation!" Toph yelled in annoyance, Ty Lee ignored her and continued hugging her. "Someone save me!"

"Go ahead, Prince of the Water Society." Zuko said while staring at Sokka proudly, the Water Society Prince just smiled. "Guess you never made it into a knight but managed to escape your status after all."

"Maybe… I ignored my heritage for so long… I guess… claiming it again is all I needed." Sokka then took Toph's hand and pulled her away from Ty Lee, the girl stared at them both with teary eyes while holding her giggling. "So, Toph, how about I replace Hawky as your seeing eye prince?"

"St…stop saying such embarrassing things… remember I'm cold hearted and strong! I'm not a pretty princess! You just have to deal with me now that you asked for my hand in marriage!" She said while blushing madly, closing her eyes and facing away in annoyance. "Cu… curses… how was I supposed to say no in front of a whole society…? Don't think you are that lucky… I just accepted because of the situation…" She lied, Sokka smiled.

"I'm the prince; I still can call it quits." Toph then swallowed her proud self and moved her head several times in negation, but did turn around to kick him hard. "Ouch! Fine, I probably shouldn't have tried my luck there!" He yelled annoyed. "But dropping that subject… Water Society Princess Toph Bei Fong has a nice ring to it."

"…Ah… well… I… umm… ah…" She began not knowing what to say, Sokka just smiled and grabbed her hand gently, filling her with many peaceful vibrations that were driving her nuts. "Don't do that… it's embarrassing…"

"You will just have to get used to it." She smiled and nodded, Sokka also smiled at her, for a long time both had dreamed about this day, only that because of the war, the battles, and their training, they couldn't think about keeping a none existent formal relationship, but now, far away from the Civil War or Genocide plotting, the two could finally try to enjoy their relationship, now as Prince and Princess of the New Water Society.

**End of Book Air – Enter Book Water.**


	21. The Blood that Ties us

Created by FriendlyMushroom.

_Honoring: Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko and Aaron Ehasz. The creators and executive producers who gave birth to 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' and whose inspiration made this possible._

_Especial thanks to: Scramble Eggs, for following the story so far even after the long hiatus, Blackcat842, whose last review inspired me into becoming a professional writing, already writing his third book and waiting for the time to finally publish it, Fay of the Ink and Paper for wanting me to continue with 'The Freaking Story', Ambrosia Elysia Slater and Uncle Ruckes, since they have for long awaited the sequel, ToraNoko123, for not avoiding this story even when it wasn't completed, Eldor Raidor IV, for reading this despite it being in English, thanks to all the anonymous reviewers who helped in the resurrection of this work, special thanks to all of those who no longer review but where the pillars of this story's success, such as, Miyiku, Blue Tiger, TwilightGD, Demonkink101, Stormic09, Tokkalover, and many others, and to all the readers, who even if don't review, have followed this work since it began, new readers are also welcomed._

_All past chapters from the first two books have been edited carefully by the author, there were no plot changes or improvements of any kind, the edition was merely grammatical._

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**Book Three: Water.**

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Roughly a month has passed since the arrival of the pillars of salvation to the Northern Water Tribe and the plot of the Air Nomad's Genocide took place. Words of the Civil War had finally being silenced, the war at the Fire Nation is finally over, but the whole world still fears the shadow of war had done nothing but grow stronger.

The four temples, jewels of Air Nomad's culture, have long since being completely evacuated, the monks left no trace behind, some now live as members of the Earth Kingdom, waiting patiently for the day they can return to their temples, and being forced to accept a way of life they have for so long ignored and remained neutral to.

Fire Nation militia runs free around the territories of the Air Nomads, securing their temples, building their military bases there, it is only a matter of time before a new war erupts, since all Fire Nation eyes are placed toward the hated Water Tribe, now declared a Water Society because of the unification of both poles in one, unquestionable, new government.

The war had pushed the pillars of salvation to take an active role in the future of all mankind, declared by the Water Society as the future rulers of their respective cultures, they all have accepted war is inevitable, and even the pacifist leaders are currently preparing for the bloody days to come.

Prince Zuko and Fire Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, have embarked once again into Fire Nation Oceans in order to seek for any survivor from the resistance force which for two years fought slavery at the Fire Nation, with them goes Ty Lee, former royal advisor of princess Toph Bei Fong, and currently ambassador of the Fire Nation and personal trainer of Prince Zuko, with them also goes Princess Katara, with the excuse of wanting to evaluate the situation at the Fire Nation before finally acknowledging Prince Zuko as the heir of his father's throne.

Prince Sokka of the Water Society currently leads a naval army toward Air Nomad's territories, not only driving the pirate's attention away from the destroyed, and still in reconstruction, walls of the Northern Water Society, but also declaring an open war to the Fire Nation, constantly trying to build their army at the North Air Temple. Princess Toph Bei Fong, have been banned from leaving her new country, and instead, is forced to stay where it is safe at the palace of the Northern Water Society, where she is well taken care of by Yue, but other than the former princess of the Water Tribe, and currently a spirit chamber, the link of their society toward Tui and La, no one has seen the blind princess of the Water Society since her coronation day.

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**Slavery Mark: Book Three – Water.**

**Chapter One: The Blood that Ties us.**

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"Fire!" The sound of cannons firing their metal made missiles toward the invasion forces of the Fire Nation is heard all around the Air Temple's territories; even some cities of the Earth Kingdom can hear them as well, since the explosive sound of the canons is strong enough as to be heard even at such long distances. It is a technology only Water Tribe Society ships now have, not even the pirates who for long spread terror around the northern oceans were ever able to have this kind of fire power, power which terrorized the Fire Nation militants trying to prevent their metal ships from sinking, since despite being more powerful in offensive than the wooden made ships of the Water Society, were harder to maintain floating while they sank because of the massive destruction the cannon balls spread upon impact. "Get ready people! Let's show these Fire Nation invaders why we are the Water Society! Our people claimed the seas before any other culture did!"

Sokka ordered, and his people cheered him up, even when the Water Society was barely trained, even when they knew no military tactics or knew not about war of any sort, Sokka had managed to lead them in a long row of overwhelming victories against the Fire Nation, mostly in naval wars, but even at land, whenever his armies were needed to disembark, the military superiority belonged to the Water Society.

"Captain! The ships at the rear are in a disadvantage! The Water Society ships relay on the power of the wind, never in steam and carbon as the ships of the Fire Nation." Bato pointed out as he saw two Fire Nation war cruisers approaching the Water Society ones at the rear, the metal made naval cruisers of the Fire Nation were faster than any Water Society ship, not to mention the Water Society ones were fragile in comparison with the metal made ships about to be slammed against their wooden made ones. "They will sink us if they get close enough."

"We won't allow them to get close enough anyway." Hadoka added while ordering several soldiers to push the cannons to the rear of the ship, getting them ready for aiding the ships endangered from being sinking upon collision with the Fire Nation vessels. "Careful with the angle! Place each cannon at 85 degrees; use twice the usual amount of explosive powder! Hadoka ordered, the Water Society soldiers obeyed and arranged the cannons following his orders, and once it was done, they all fired their cannons toward the Fire Nation ships, opening several holes in the ship's hull and quickly forcing them to sink. "Great job men!" Hakoda praised, but many Fire Nation ships were approaching. "Is it just me? Or is the Fire Nation growing in number?"

"Azula told me to avoid these waters, she said they were crowded with many Fire Nation imperial ships, but now that we are here, we have no choice but push forward!" Sokka yelled, Hadoka and Bato just followed their young leader, since no matter how crazy his ideas were, no matter how inexperienced the elders of the Water Society thought Sokka was, the prophesies and the many battles he fought during his days at the Fire Nation and the Air Temples probed different. "We will lose them inside the fog! I want all ships retreating to the steam clouds!" Sokka pointed at the foggy regions of the ocean Azula for so long advised Sokka into never entering, he was of course ready to disobey her in honor of his Water Society despite his loyalty toward the Fire Princess.

"Son, I mean, General Sokka." Hadoka corrected, he wasn't used to this, Sokka was his superior first, and after, his son, which meant both hadn't being able to share a father-son relationship since the moment of Sokka's coronation as a Water Society prince, it was forbidden by the elders to allow Hakoda to get too close to Sokka, they said something about blinding his judgment. "The steam vapors of the mist won't allow our sails to move our ships."

"We will send all our man to the steering oars, pull the sails down, we are entering the fog!" Sokka ordered, and as was said, the sails were pulled down of every ship, and with the cannons still firing at the Fire Nation ships approaching at their rears, the Water Society ships disappeared while being swallowed by the fog. The heat was strong, enough for every soldier inside of the ship to start sweating heavily, it was even worse for those steering the ship, since even if they weren't hit that much by the hot vapors from the outside, the effort they placed in each steer was worsened and weakened by the vapors coming from the holes connecting the oars to the water.

"If I knew I was going to be forced to do this kind of job, I would have stayed at the Water Society where it is cold!" One of the soldiers complained, covered entirely in a Water Society armor but wearing metal made footwear instead of the usual leather made ones, and with the face concealed inside a silver helmet with the face of a Turtle-Seal covering the eyes.

"Toph, remain in silence, your voice is too female, if someone hears you, we are doomed." By the side of the cross-dressing Earth Princess, now Water Society Princess and playing the soldier in war, was Teo, the one responsible of keeping the ship's cannons working, and due to him wanting to work hard for the crew, Sokka allowed him to work by the steering oars since it was the only job Teo could have other than ship's maintenance while inside of the ship, he wore no armor since he wasn't trained for war and couldn't participate in them anyway, but was wearing the colors of the Water Society. "You need to remain hidden, Sister Ty Lee and Yue wouldn't forgive me if something were to happen to you."

"First of all, while I'm wearing this armor, the name is Sangok." She said while reminding Teo of the owner of the armor she was currently wearing. "Second, Ty Lee agreed with allowing me to have some fun instead to be the pretty little princess everyone wants me to be, I couldn't stand every Water Society maiden forcing me to dress like this, eat like that, and telling me my nose is forbidden territory and if I were to touch it again I was declaring an open war to the tissues they would use to keep my nose as clean as possible." She added noisily, which forced Teo to cover her mouth before anyone would notice her female tone of voice.

"Toph, I mean, Sangok, quit complaining and keep steering." She let out a deep breathe in annoyance, but the vapors coming from the outside went inside of her throat and she began coughing hard, fortunately for her, everyone else began coughing, the conditions inside the steering room were horrible. "What is the Captain thinking? Forcing us into this heavy fog is madness!"

"He is a Captain, a General, a Strategist, and a Prince! Give him a break, will you?" Toph yelled hard against her companion while defending her groom, luckily, no one noticed since they were complaining about the heat. "He works too hard for his society, all I can do is hide my gender and pretend to be a useless soldier down his lead, you got any idea of how it is like to swallow the urge of speaking to him?"

"I know, but please, Toph, Ty Lee gave me a lot of instructions, and she isn't here to take care of you, and you aren't helping in the less in doing my job any simpler." Toph opened her mouth about to complain, but the Water Society Prince quickly made his way inside of the steering room.

"Stop steering!" He yelled hard, but once he did he realized it was already too late, the main ship of his float had crashed with something, everyone noticed when the crashing send everyone out of their sits and toward the wooden made floor. "Everyone out of the ship! Quick!"

"Out? But aren't we in the middle of the ocean?" Teo complained while being helped up by Toph, who was now carrying him princess style, something Teo was awfully embarrassed about. "I appreciate the help but, can you please not do that, just place me on top of my chair." He instructed, but Toph moved her head in negation.

"That won't do, your chair was slammed by the body of a soldier when we crashed, and answering your first question, no, we aren't in the middle of the ocean anymore, we crashed with some kind of island." She informed, Teo blinked twice, but then faced the metal made boots the girl was wearing. "These boots works wonders, they allow me to feel the vibrations even on wood, you did a nice job."

"I only used a slim metal which vibrates easily at the sightless movement pattern, even against wind or water, it isn't anything that special." He informed, although he was proud of his job when crafting the metal made boots.

"Show off about your skills when this ship isn't sinking and when you can actually craft some metal made boots which aren't this heavy." She said while smirking at him, she then began running her way around the already sinking ship and while helping many other soldiers to make it to the ship's deck, where Sokka was yelling his instructions to everyone.

"I repeat! I need twenty volunteers with me; anyone else will leave with the other ships back to Water Society oceans!" He instructed, which won Toph's attention. "This is the Boiling Rock! A maximum security Fire Nation prison! It is famous because no one had ever escaped it! And we are breaking inside of it!"

"The Boiling Rock." Toph began, Teo just blinked twice while staring at the girl, not really knowing what to say or how to react. "Zuko spoke to me about it once, the prison where war criminals are locked at, inside of an island in the middle of a dormant volcano, there is no way I'm allowing Sokka to go there on his own, I'm sorry Teo, but I'm offering myself as volunteer!" She yelled that last part out loud before throwing Teo toward a just arriving soldier who now carried him. "Water Society soldier, Sangok, reporting for duty, sir!" She reported, Teo tried to complain, but was trapped inside the evacuation, the ship wouldn't last any longer.

"Sangok? You mean that idiot Zuko always complains about?" He asked, Toph lowered her face, once again hiding her eyes below the silver made helmet of a Turtle-Seal. "But still, you got a totemic guardian, I suppose I can trust you then, fine then, we are leaving! Commander Hadoka, I'm leaving my society down your capable hands, Bato, you are with me." Sokka informed, and Bato whistled for his pet Tiger-Wolf to join them in the mission. "Long life the Water Society!"

"Long life the Water Society!" Every Water Society member yelled back in approbation, they then boarded the remaining ships and lured the Fire Nation war cruisers, already keeping up with the Water Society ships, out of the fog and back to Water Tribe waters. "We will patrol the surrounding areas! Stay alive, son!" Sokka nodded, but said nothing, he then lead his army of twenty-two men, including himself, around the skirt of the dormant volcano.

"So, what's the plan?" Bato asked while the group moved fast around the skirt and began recognizing the area. "I never heard of an assault toward the Boiling Rock in our last war meeting, I'm afraid I only found out until now."

"That's because the elders never agreed in having me discussing this assault in a war meeting." Bato and the other soldiers blinked twice in surprise. "The elders thought it was useless and too dangerous, but I'm the prince, and if I say we are invading the Boiling Rock, then we are." He finished his explanation and continued leading his men around the Boiling Rock; only Bato now doubted Sokka's leadership.

"But Sokka, are you out of your mind? The elders, much specifically, Chief Arnook, gave you the power to lead the Water Society, and you agreed in them being the ones agreeing or not with your orders, if the elders disagreed in your invasion plan to the Boiling Rock, you obey, that's the way things work, remember the Water Society rules are now unquestionable!" Bato explained, only Sokka was ignoring him. "Please Sokka, don't be reckless! This isn't the way a Prince should behave!"

"Of course it isn't." Sokka admitted with a smile drawn on his face, a smile Bato was unable to comprehend. "This is the way a warrior behaves, placing his instincts in front of his beliefs all the time, ready to do anything for that which he thinks is right, I learned from the best warrior ever heard of; I learned all I know from the White Empress of the South." And Bato said no more, he just faced away ashamed, for long he was the one serving under the leadership of Kaya, the Queen of the Southern Water Tribe, and today, he was serving her son, the Prince of the Water Society. "So, anyone else wants to complain? Or do we follow Southern Water Tribe warrior teachings? My mother never lost a battle in all her life; I'm planning on keeping her record intact." Sokka explained, everyone nodded, but Toph still was curious, she couldn't believe how a dead woman was this inspiring to a society who for long ignored her teachings and remained neutral to the war. "We left no ship behind, only an already sinking into boiling water ship, the Fire Nation knows nothing about our intrusion, we will set camp here." Sokka then pointed at the insides of a cave leading deep inside the volcano, a cave he found thanks to one of the Fire Nation scrolls his people had stolen from other Fire Nation ships. "It will be hard, the heat is too strong, and we aren't used to the extremist temperatures, the Fire Nation knows this, and they know staying here is a suicide, I want four men with me, we are going to infiltrate and steal some Fire Nation uniforms, Bato, I want you to neutralize the guards, steal their uniforms, and bring them here, make sure no one is a bender, I don't want any accidents." He instructed, Bato nodded. "Take three soldiers with you."

"I only need one soldier to help me carry the Fire Nation ones; I can do the neutralizing myself." Sokka nodded, his plan then began. Toph wanted to be one of the soldiers going with Sokka in this suicidal mission, but she felt the hand of Bato grabbing her shoulder. "Oh no you won't, Sokka needs the best of men with him for this mission, and we both now, Sangok, that you aren't exactly qualified for it, you are coming with me." Bato ordered, the remaining soldiers made fun of Sangok, the man everyone knew barely made it into adulthood when competing in the annual adulthood tournaments. Toph then followed Bato, but not without staring one last time at Sokka and his group of soldiers, she was close to him, but thanks to the war, even farther than ever.

* * *

"Wachoo!" A strong sneeze was heard coming out from Toph's room way back at the Water Society, many maids tried to enter the room after breathing out heavily and getting the tissues ready for cleaning the Princess's nose, but Yue opened the door and waved her hand for the girls not to enter, she was now in charge of Toph's health, and with a reverence, she made it inside of the room and breathed out heavily in relief.

"For the love of Tui and La, Sangok, do you want the maids to find out you are taking the princess's place?" Yue complained, and then tried to ignore the strong laughter of June, now taking Ty Lee's place as royal ambassador of the Water Society Princess Toph Bei Fong, and forbidden from leaving the country as well due to her status and royal responsibility toward the Earth Princess. "June, you are not helping." Yue complained.

"But I just can't stand it!" June continued bursting into laughter while rolling around Toph's bed; tears of joy were even falling from her eyes. "Ok, I'm fine already, keep your coolness June, just ignore the fact of him dressing like a girl and you will be fine." But her cheeks were then filled with air and she burst into a strong laughter once again. "I can't! This is just too hilarious! I'm so glad the elders forced me to stay at the Water Society after all! This is madness! I can't even believe I'm losing my coolness! I'm never like this!" And she continued laughing.

"Well, thank you for lowering my self-esteem!" Sangok complained, he was currently wearing Toph's royal clothes, which fit him perfectly and forced the mercenary girl to burst into laughter once again. "Stop that! It's really hurting my feelings!"

"Please stop! Just shut up and say no more!" June complained while grabbing her stomach. "It's enough with having to look at you while dressing like that! Hearing you complaining like a little girl isn't helping me recover from this laughing crisis! I hate you!" She yelled but then burst into laughter again.

"June, seriously, I'm counting on you for the fulfillment of this plan, what will happen if you start laughing like this in the middle of the city?" Yue asked, June nodded several times and finally relaxed. "And you, Sangok, don't sneeze so hard, you know how Toph's maids used to clean her highness's nose every time she sneezed, it's not safe to sneeze so hard, not to mention it probes you have a serious problem, maybe an allergy."

"It's not like I can control the way I sneeze, and why in the world do I have to dress like a girl and have her laughing at me all the time?" He complained while pointing at June, who once again tried to swallow her laughter in vain. "She seriously is hurting me feelings!"

"Don't be such a crybaby!" June complained, but soon she recovered her coolness and placed her attention against Yue. "At any rate, are you sure no one will find out? Because if the Water Society discovers I'm helping you and the princess of the Earth Kingdom into tricking her people that she is well and healthy, and still at the Water Society, chief Arnook will have my head."

"No one will notice as long as Sangok's face remains hidden, and he doesn't argue with Hawky as he did last time, seriously, next time I get Hawky out of the barn he and Eeleen are sharing, you two better get along." Yue then began placing some make up at Sangok's face, the teen complained, but crossed his arms in annoyance while allowing Yue to continue hiding his masculinity. "Sangok is skinny; he would trick anyone into believing he is actually a girl."

"Well, that's just rude!" Sangok complained and crossed his arms in annoyance and while facing away, which quickly forced June to start laughing at him once again after Sangok began acting more and more as a girl so naturally. "I'm really not sure about this."

"Neither am I, but in hopes of helping Toph, I agreed on this, she is totally blind at the poles, and also, she wants to be with the person she loves the most." Yue got carried away, June noticed, a smile full with malice already drawing itself at the mercenary's lips. "It's not like that." She added calmly.

"No, of course not, helping the girl who stole your groom into being close to him, seriously lady, women should show more spine and aim for what they truly want… giving up on the prince of the Water Society was perhaps the worst mistake you could ever make." She explained, but Yue moved her head in negation while smiling. "And you still want to smile for me, are you out of your mind or what? Seriously."

"It really isn't like that… giving up on Sokka wasn't hard in the less, I wanted to meet him, and understand what kind of person he was, just then could I understand if being forced into marriage was something good or bad." She then stopped, her mind spaced out for a second, and then she began laughing. "Although I must admit, he is awfully handsome." She added, June smiled.

"He surely was, but not as hot as that stupid bandaged warrior! I had love to see what's bellow those bandages of his, surely some sexy looking muscles!" June blushed, Yue giggled, Sangok just rolled his eyes in annoyance, not only was he forced to dress like a lady, now he had to listen to them talk about men.

* * *

At the in ruins capital of the Fire Nation, a couple of cloaked figures remained hidden from the many militants running around the streets and making sure the capital was safe from any rebel who may have survived the furious attack at the Fire Nation. One of the cloaked figures kept her only useful eye analyzing the situation, she could tell by their weak movements and the shock in their faces, that not even they approved the actions of the Fire Lord in ending this Civil War for good, it was madness, and worse than everything, a genocide.

"To believe I once thought about fighting for the fate of this nation with all my heart… I'm glad I convinced Azula into staying inside of the ship." Ty Lee then lied down avoiding a soldier who was just turning around from noticing her; she was skillful enough as to see the tension in his muscles before the action, which made her a master of espionage. "Still, why in the world do you have to tag along? You do nothing but complain." Ty Lee added, and another cloaked figure, this one with her never ending stare permanently directed to a group of collapsed bookshelves, did nothing but bit her lips in annoyance while blushing madly.

"That's none of your business! At any rate, I'm a member of royalty, and you are just a peasant, address me correctly whenever you speak to me!" She yelled it all out, and Ty Lee had to return to her watch and make sure no one had heard the princess of the Water Society speaking, her fingers always ready in the Chi Blocking posture, and her eyes analyzing the tension in the soldier's muscles, luckily for them, no one noticed. "I hate this place!"

"And I though her highness was already stubborn enough, princess Katara beats both Toph and Azula in the who is more annoying contest." Katara finally faced away from the collapsed bookshelves, she heard what Ty Lee just said, only Ty Lee never controlled her tone of voice to hide her words from Katara, she actually disliked the Water Society princess. "Zuko!" Ty Lee added cheerfully, Katara then stared at the bookshelves once again with a beautiful smile drawn on her face, a smile she quickly erased from her face when seeing Zuko, breathing heavily and sweating hard. "I knew I shouldn't have allowed you to go there on your own!" Ty Lee yelled and pushed Katara away and into the floor, then placed her whole attention toward Zuko. "There is little air down there; the Anapanasati won't work in reduced spaces!" She instructed, Zuko nodded, but still gasped for air, Ty Lee then searched for an acupuncture point, and she pressed Zuko's chest strongly, forcing his lungs open, and him to breath heavily once again. "Zuko!" She added with teary eyes.

"I will be fine… thanks…" Zuko replied, and then smiled for Ty Lee, who smiled shyly back to him, but her smile was quickly erased by her ponytail being pulled hard by Katara, who was biting her lips hard while trying to swallow her anger, but not being capable of doing it at all. "Katara? What are you doing? You are hurting her."

That's exactly the point! She was rude to me!" She kept pulling her ponytail; Ty Lee was already losing her temper as well, getting her fingers ready for battle and about to use them against Katara. "You peasant! That's now way to treat a princess!"

"And that isn't a way for a princess to behave." Zuko added, Katara calmed down and let go of Ty Lee, only after doing it, the releasing send Ty Lee toward Zuko's arms, he blushed, she blushed, and Katara bit her lips with hatred. "Anyway!" Zuko added fast and pushed Ty Lee away from him. "The underground city is still there, the Fire Nation didn't discover its location, but there is no one down there, the city was completely abandoned, it stings to smoke, I guess the populace was forced to evacuate because of the toxic gases the Dragon-Hounds burned the whole capital with."

"And what happened to the resistance? Were they captured?" Zuko nodded, Ty Lee then faced the Fire Nation prison. "That place is not big enough for too many people, and after the break out five years ago during the Civil War, I doubt it's still functional, where in the Fire Nation would they place so many prisoners?" She asked, Zuko lowered his face. "Don't tell me they are planning on doing what I think they are planning on doing."

"Father isn't that stupid, he wouldn't kill so many innocents without giving his people a good reason… he wouldn't commit that mistake twice." Zuko added with his face full in depression, Ty Lee and Katara nodded, but Zuko ignored them both and faced the city in ruins. "Yu and the leaders of the rebellion, are about to be executed at the ground zero of the Fire Nation palace, the other rebels are being transported toward the Boiling Rock, just as Sokka and I planned."

"The Boiling Rock? Are you two nuts? We don't have enough resources to spare in an attack toward the Boiling Rock!" Ty Lee yelled out, Katara just stared at both in confusion. "The Day of the Black Sun is close, we need all the troops we can get to launch a direct attack to the heart of the Fire Nation, which if you hadn't noticed, is full with Fire Nation soldiers, keeping Water Society ships around the seas of the Northern Air Temple and the Water Society already cut our forces in half, now you and Sokka are invading the Boiling Rock? Who agreed on this plan?"

"No one, the elders said it was a suicide mission, that's why Sokka is sinking his own ship at the Boiling Rock's shore, and taking a small group with him for an infiltration, if the elders ask, it was an accident." Ty Lee felt her mouth opening as wanting to say something, but no word escaped her lungs. "What? It is a suicide mission, just as all missions we have, searching for resistance survivors, and preventing the execution of our leaders isn't what I would call a well-planned plan in the less."

"Whatever, let's do this fast and leave this pathetic nation already, I feel dirty just standing in Fire Nation floor." And Zuko and Ty Lee started at princess Katara with annoyance. "The leaders of your rebellion are about to be killed, move it already." She added, Ty Lee crossed her arms in annoyance.

"I can't take her anymore! I swear it, if I have to save her royal butt in the middle of a battle, I will leave her on her own, I'm not saving her." Zuko just moved his head in negation and walked behind of Katara, Ty Lee did the same after complaining about the princess. "How can you stand her? She does nothing but complain about our nation and people, she is a racist."

"She is not… she is just pretending to be a total pain so we don't worry about her." Ty Lee stared at Zuko, the young and former Prince of the Fire Nation just stared at Katara as the young princess walked around the in ruins city without even caring of being discovered by the militants. "She has a kind heart, and an odd motherly side she only allows anyone to see when she leaves her guard down… a side she hides from others by being a total pain, so no one will notice her weakness."

"Weakness… or care toward those she loves…?" Ty Lee faced down; Zuko stared at her with concern. "Seriously… going as far as to be a total pain to Zuko… and then release all her anger on me so I keep my distance… love is surely strange… isn't it…?" Zuko then gave her an odd stare, which she noticed, blushed about, and backed off in fear off. "It's nothing! Just talking to myself, that's all!"

"Women… I don't get them…" Was Zuko's only reply, and then he breathed out heavily and continued his march, which impressed Ty Lee a lot. Since Zuko's health was halved due to half his heart being dead after his last encounter with his father, Ty Lee had been training Zuko in the arts of Anapanasati, a monk teaching to control ones breathe, releasing the pressure in Zuko's damaged heart, and allowing him to do everything at a fixed rhythm, he now could run, workout, and train with the sword as he used to do when his heart wasn't wounded, and firebending was now possible, but Ty Lee never imagined he would learn Anapanasati this fast, even if his technique wasn't perfected yet, only Ty Lee could use the Anapanasati as a real weapon, Zuko threatened his own life when using it, and with those thoughts in mind, she followed the others toward ground zero.

* * *

"Move it, Sangok, there is a lot to be done and little time to do it." Bato exclaimed, and Toph had to bit her lips in annoyance not to earthbend the annoying Water Society warrior into the burning earth they were currently climbing. She was tired, the heat was too much for her to breathe normally, and despite being strong in body and mind, she wasn't a man, and needed to place more and more effort into her climbing. "In my opinion, war is only for men." He began, Toph then felt her hand being pulled and then her whole body being lift by the strong Water Society militant. "But as usual, there is always a woman proving me wrong, seriously." He then took Toph's helmet off, revealing her long and silky hair already drenched in sweat, and her blind eyes the spirits used as window toward the world of humans. "Whose idea was this?"

"You knew?" Toph asked, Bato then placed her down and continued climbing the dormant volcano and toward a group of watchtowers full with Fire Nation soldiers pointing their torches toward the fog, trying to see anything suspicious. "If you knew." Toph began while climbing her way toward the towers once again. "Why didn't you send me back with the retreating group? You know how this is a suicidal mission and all, and you know Sokka won't be able to concentrate if he knows I'm part of his army." Bato then helped Toph up once again, she hated this, she was the greatest earthbending master ever heard of, able to use metalbending and essencebending, but still needing help to climb a dormant volcano.

"I thought about sending you back, but I didn't for three reasons." He continued while asking his Tiger-Wolf to scout the zone while they remained hidden behind some rocks tall enough as to cover their bodies from the watchers. "First, you were brave enough to do this madness, and that, my girl, is what makes the Water Tribe so strong, forget about the Water Society, in heart, we are still Southern Water Tribe, brave, strong, and determined." Toph smiled when hearing that last, so far she was having second thoughts about being the new princess of the Water Society, but after hearing Bato's words, she was glad. "Second, you are far better than Sangok, that kid is nothing but a pain, having you, a skilled warrior joining our lines in this suicidal mission, is far better than a worthless warrior who has a Turtle-Seal as totemic guardian." The Tiger-Wolf arrived after finding the perfect route to follow, and then guided the two warriors toward the safest path to follow. "The third reason is my new found respect for women in general, in the past, we, warriors of the Southern and Northern Water Tribes, were the only ones who were allowed in war, that of course was until Kaya changed our mind."

"Sokka's mother?" Toph added, her eyes widened when remembering the vibrations of the proud woman she only met twice in the past, once at the rebellion at the Earth Kingdom, and one last time when she died in front of her and Sokka. "I never knew what kind of woman she was… what did she do to deserve your respect… I mean, as a girl, I demand your respect, but she earned it."

"Since the days of Avatar Kuruk, only the first born men, direct descendant of Kuruk's blood line, was allowed to lead our people in war, it was like that for many generations, if the first born wasn't a man, she couldn't lead our people, only a man could." Toph nodded, although she disliked the gender preference of the Water Tribes. "But then it happened, after so long, a king, died in battle without giving birth to a man, the only one left was a young girl, Kaya, the last direct descendant of a Kuruk, our elders thought we were doomed, the blood of Kuruk had abandoned us in war, there was no one to lead us, the Queen had the blood of a commoner, she couldn't lead us."

"Only Kaya had the blood in her veins as to be worthy of the leadership of the Southern Water Tribe… but she was a girl." Toph pointed out, Bato nodded; he then delivered a bone made hammer to Toph. "I'm a bender, I don't need this."

"You can't bend in front of Sokka, so I'm going to train you in the arts of a warrior, just as I trained Kaya." Toph's eyes widened once again, Bato continued. "Kaya was only twelve years old when the burden of the leadership of her tribe fell on top of her arms, and our tribe was full with young warriors because of the adults fighting the Earth Kingdom head on as they invaded our territories, only the young ones, who still hadn't achieved maturity, were to stay behind." He explained, Toph listened to it all with a new found interest. "I was the elder of our tribe while the adults were all at the front line, and I was only 15 years old, I was as well, the only male of our tribe who knew princess Kaya was born, since for a king to have a girl was a disgrace, and their gender, was always hidden from the knowledge of people."

"So, it is as they say, great minds think the same things." Toph smiled, Bato nodded. "You cross dressed the princess of the Southern Water Tribe so your people would think there was a heir to the throne of the dead king, pretty clever."

"Indeed… wait, you cross dressed Sangok?" Toph nodded, Bato then tried hard to swallow his laughter. "Anyway." He continued. "With Kaya posing as a male, she was the only woman in history to receive military training, for three long years, I trained her alongside many others, at first she was a crybaby, always breaking into a strong sobbing after being scratched, and she was bullied by her sparing partners, by all but one."

"Hakoda." Bato nodded, Toph then felt her heart complaining, despite being a strong and determined girl, she was still a girl, and as such, interested in romanticism. "Now that, is interesting, what happened when Hakoda found out Kaya was a girl?"

"He didn't, not until she kissed him, just imagine his embarrassment." Toph felt her jaw dropping; she then fought her laughter hard. "Let's not think about it yet, by the way, you are carrying the hammer upside down." She blushed and then fixed the grip of her hammer; both then ran toward the walls of the watch posts. "Kaya fell in love with Hakoda, and both quickly became good friends because of Hakoda's soft heart, he always protected the weak, and wanted to see the day his prince would claim the throne and lead his people toward times of peace."

"Sounds like something Sokka would do, now I see where he took his annoying loyalty like attitude, he is ready to die for Zuko and Azula if they order it to him, all because of a stupid vow of loyalty." Bato placed his linked hands in front of Toph, the girl stepped on them and then readied her hammer. "So, how do I use this thing? Do I just smack them out cold?"

"That's the plan, but remember, it is a bone hammer, you need to be careful when swinging it." Toph waited, Bato continued. "One hit at the back of the head, not too high or you will force a paralysis to the guard's brain, not to below of he will die because of the loss of blood, normally it wouldn't bother me, they are our enemies, but Sokka instructed us just to kill if extremely necessary… something about a guy called Master Piandao or something, teaching him the meaning of forgiveness."

"That's my Sokka." Toph added, Bato then launched Toph toward the watchtower; she climbed it, and then smacked the back of the head of the soldier in watch duty, knocking him unconscious, but not killing him, she then pulled the unconscious soldier toward the wall she climbed not long ago, and using her hammer to have a better grip to the corner of the tower, she climbed the wall down while carrying the heavy soldier at her back. "Dead weight is way heavier than what I had expected!" She complained and then climbed the wall down, and once she did, Bato took the unconscious soldier from her shoulders and carried him instead, placing little effort into it. "Sweet!" She grinned, Bato the asked her to follow him. "So, Kaya took the leadership of her tribe?"

"That girl made my life impossible, but just as Sokka after her, she adsorbed everything like a sponge, she was the worst student I ever had, and then the best one, she was incredible with a lance, and a swung of her hammer could knock a trio of well-armed Earth Kingdom soldiers easily, even a tribe's shield was a dangerous weapon in her hands, when throwing it, I was afraid she would rip someone's head off." Toph was impressed, Bato continued. "When she made her third annual ceremony of maturity, she asked me to be her opponent, can you believe it? I was the eldest of soldiers, not to mention the bravest, they gave the Tiger-Wolf totem to me, and that is the highest rank in the Water Tribe military strength, far different from the Turtle-Seal, which is the worst rank." Toph cursed her helmet, although it wasn't hers, but Sangok's. "She asked me not to hold back, and I didn't, imagine my surprise, when she broke my bone lance with the spear of her own, and I had the edge looking straight into my eyes, she was incredible, the lance was her best weapon, and the only one she used to defeat me, her eyes were as piercing arrows, her determination the same of a Polar-Walrus-Bear, and she moved as gracefully as Air Nomad's Snow-Birds, I guess I fell in love with her somehow when that happened, but then again, Hakoda already discovered her secret two days before her tournament of arms, when she unexpectedly kissed him after she beat him in a practice contest, just imagine his reaction, everyone thought he was… err… what's the world I'm looking for?"

"Oh, I know, Air Nomad!" Bato burst into laughter after hearing the old pun everyone used to refer to that kind of people, so did Toph, but they then controlled their laughs once arriving to the next watchtower. "So, Kaya made it into adulthood, sweet."

"I will never forget that day, my spirit was shattered, our people in silence and impressed for Kaya's victory, but then, when her people began cheering for her, and thought their prince was ready to finally join the war, she did something no one ever expected." And Toph couldn't wait to hear it, Bato noticed. "She took her helmet off, and revealed her long hair, and if there was any doubt of her true gender left, she took her armor off, revealing her feminine figure, and with only a blue tunic covering her body, she then yelled to her people, with a voice full of authority, 'I am Kaya, future queen of the Water Tribe, the blood of Avatar Kuruk runs through my veins, and I will lead my people toward times of peace, whether they want it or not, since the authority of a blood of Kuruk is unquestionable." And Toph could almost imagine it. "Hakoda was the first to kneel before her, and I was the second to do so, every elder followed us, and soon, the whole pole was kneeling, and cheering the name of our princess, her totemic guardian was then revealed, she was a Swam-Peacock, the first and only warrior to earn that title, but in the battlefield, her enemies knew her as the White Empress of the South, since her totemic guardian forced her to wear a silver and white armor… oh… sorry… you don't know what those colors are… no offence."

"None taken." Toph added while smiling and facing the floor. "I didn't know her… you know… but when I was five years old, I felt her vibrations, they were strong, but peaceful at the same time, and I just knew she was truly Sokka's mother, she was a great woman, I could feel it, I wish I had shared the battlefield with her."

"And sometimes I wish I never did, if Sokka is reckless, and a genius in war tactics, you can imagine the kind of person Kaya was." Bato then gave a boomerang to Toph, the girl remembered the touch of the object from the time Sokka captured her at the Earth Kingdom, and after knowing what the object was, she gave Bato an odd blind stare. "If I could train Kaya into becoming the kind of person she used to be, I'm sure I can train you as well, even if you are blind, when using a boomerang, you don't aim with your eyes, but with your ears, you listen to the wind, and launch the boomerang in hopes of it following the trace in your mind, of course you need to know where your opponent is first."

"I already know." Toph said while placing her hand at the wall of the second watchtower, she then tried to concentrate in the sound of the wind, even is the intense heat was against her, and once she found the trace, she threw her boomerang, only Bato threw one after hers, making sure the girl would knock the soldier down. "Did I get him?"

"Almost." Was Bato's reply, and then both boomerang's fell down moments before another soldier fell from the watchtower and he was forced to catch him. "You got his face, instead of the back of his head, but don't worry, Kaya missed the first time as well, or maybe she just wanted to hit Hakoda and win his attention, that girl, sometimes she forgot she was pretending to be a boy, Hakoda was always awfully embarrassed." And Toph giggled when thinking about it.

"Kaya felt like such a nice lady, even when her vibrations told different… she was sick… what happened to her?" Toph wondered, Bato then took a deep breathe. "She was sick since birth?"

"I blame myself for her premature dead… I never knew she was sick, no one told me, and she hid it from me." Bato admitted, Toph lowered her face. "She had a difficult time trying adjusting to any kind of training she made, at first I thought it was because she was a girl, or because she never trained ever in her whole life, but it was something else, her heart, it was weak." Toph nodded, Bato continued. "No one knows how it happened, apparently, her heart never worked the way it should, even at the day of her birth, the doctors thought she didn't survive the birth, but it wasn't that, she was born weak."

"Being born with a burden… and trying to prove herself capable of doing things no one ever thought she was going to be able to do… I think I now understand Kaya better than anyone… it wasn't your fault, she did what she thought was right… even if that killed her." Bato nodded, both then walked slowly toward the last watch post. "When did you found out she was sick?"

"Too late I'm afraid… and I never forgave Hakoda for not telling me before." Bato stopped his march for a second when saying that last, but he then resumed his march. "For years, Kaya fought ignoring her weakness, she was so fierce in the battle field that I never suspected anything was wrong with her, she always did her best, and always, was the first one to enter the battlefield." But there was a depressive tone of voice in Bato's words; he still blamed himself for the loss. "When she got married to Hakoda, I didn't know both were hiding it from me, she told him everything, and still, he married her, but I could see it, Hakoda was forcing himself to catch up with Kaya when in battle, and that angered her, they were always arguing, once I caught a glimpse of Kaya's health, Hakoda and I were best friends and I decided to help them in their relationship problems, but before I did, I heard her yelling and saying, 'You said you would never treat me any different because of my heart.' That was what she said."

"She was worried Hakoda would kill himself in battle while defending her… now I know where Sokka got that over protective side of him." She added, Bato nodded. "But you still couldn't figure it out?"

"She was pregnant; I thought it had something to do with it." Toph moved her shoulders up and down as reply; she had no idea of what it felt like anyway. "When Sokka was born, Kaya was too weak as to take care of him properly, the doctors said it was dangerous for her to have her child, but she demanded the doctors to help her first born to be born, or else she would personally kill each of them, she lost too much blood in the birth, but Sokka was born, and with him, the prophesy of him leading our tribe to times of peace."

"But she never cared about the prophesy, she just wanted Sokka to be born." Bato then handled a third weapon to Toph, a bone made lance. "She risked her life to have her baby, I guess it's a mother's thing, I really don't know, my mother died when I was five years old, it isn't like I can remember her at all."

"But Sokka was born, which is why we are all here today." Toph nodded. "Those were the hardest days of our tribe, without Kaya, the armies of the Earth Kingdom were more powerful, and to make it worse, Kaya was asked to travel to the altar of the kings, far in the south, and away from our tribe, for her to speak to the spirits and for them to judge if Sokka would become the boy who would seek for equilibrium."

"Wait, she was weak, and recently had a baby, and the spirits still asked her to do such a thing? That's madness!" Bato nodded, Toph just waited for the rest of the explanation, she was already sick with the tales of the all mighty spirits, but still wanted to know.

"A month after Sokka's birth, she took him in her arms, placed some Polar-Walrus-Bear fur around him, and went to the king's temple as was instructed, with only her lance as protection for herself and Sokka, our men were forbidden from helping her by the spirits, she needed to do this alone." Bato then helped Toph into having a better grip for her lance; she understood and then allowed Bato to show her the movements she should use. "She returned to our tribe a month later, weaker than ever, but Sokka was healthy, the Earth Kingdom had won a lot of our territories after she was gone, but once returning, she never thought about it twice, she took the lance in her hands, and headed to battle, in just a week, she pushed the invasion forces back, and restored our tribe to its former glory."

"I can't believe the spirits were cruel enough as to place such a burden on Kaya… what were they thinking?" But Bato never blamed the spirits, the whole contrary; he knew the reason of Kaya's strength was because of her trust in the spirits.

"Katara's birth was different, it went without any complications, she was a new woman, stronger, healthier, fighting for the only propose of avoiding the destiny the spirits wanted Sokka to fulfill, she swore the war would be over before Sokka would lead his tribe, and with that motivation in mind, she pressed on, even when the Fire Nation joined the war, she got victory after victory, she defeated the greatest generals, between the names I can remember, are Admiral Zhao, and Jeong Jeong, some say she even defeated General Iroh in combat."

"Really? Two of them were Sokka's masters." She added, Bato smiled. "I bet she left such a good impression of her skills to them, enough for them for wanting to train Sokka and believe he was indeed the future of his tribe."

"If only Kaya had lasted a little longer, none of this would have happened." Bato continued. "After her battle with Jeong Jeong's army was over, I heard the queen was heavily injured, and I rushed to her aid despite Hakoda trying to stop me, I found her inside of her hut, she was spitting out blood, but she wasn't injured, there was no scratch which deserved any attention, she was just coughing out blood with no apparent reason, it was then when I understood there was something wrong with her, just imagine my rage, I grabbed Hakoda by the neck, I would have snapped it if it wasn't because I knew he had a son and a daughter."

"And because she was a dear person to you, just like Hakoda was, it hurt you because they kept secrets from you, but you forgave them, even when you understood Kaya's illness… and instead of placing the blame in them for not telling you… you blamed yourself for pushing her too hard… you were never able to live with that burden…" Bato nodded, Toph then bit her lips in annoyance, jumped the wall and climbed it while holding her lance fiercely, Bato couldn't understand her reasons, but soon saw a soldier falling down while he hold his stomach, and shortly after, he saw Toph jumping down and hitting the soldier's face with the back of her bone lance. "It wasn't you fault! You trained her! Taught her the extension of her own limitations! If she decided to lie to you when not telling you she was sick, it was her own fault, not that she is to be blamed because of her own passing away, she lived the way she wanted, and she never regretted it, not even when dying in front of her son!" Bato was speechless. "Kioshy, Ty Lee, and now Kaya… I don't care, they were all great women, but I will surpass them all… because I want to be not just the best Earthbending Master ever heard of… now I want to be an example to all women in the future generations… just like Kaya was, and you will be the one teaching me how!" She ordered, Bato then had to back off since Toph's lace was dangerously close to his nose. "So then…" She added, Bato stared at her. "Got any complains about me calling you Master?"

* * *

Back at the Fire Nation, just arriving at ground zero, a huge crowd was forming. The extended majority was formed by military men, but some where Fire Nation citizens who not long ago returned to the in ruins capital in hopes of starting its reconstruction. In front of them all, and just coming out from his royal hut was Fire Lord Ozai, followed by a young woman Ty Lee never expected to see.

"Mai?" She began, and Zuko had to cover the girl's mouth for them not to be discovered, they were undercover after all, and with both being dangerously easy to recognize by the Fire Lord and Mai, they needed to try to remain as hidden as possible, standing out would be suicide. "Zuko, this is madness, that girl is far from being normal, if we engage in battle with them, I don't think I will be able to hold her back, I mean, I still haven't recovered entirely from when I used the Anapanasati to become the one girl army."

"Show off!" Katara added, Ty Lee bit her lips in annoyance, Zuko just stood between the two. "I got military training from Master Pakku, even when he refused because I was a girl, but I proved to be the greatest waterbending master there is, even if Ozai and that girl try to stop us, I will handle them."

"Yeah, right, that girl almost killed your brother!" Ty Lee yelled out, Zuko just shut them both up and stared at the ceremony taking place. The people was annoyed, they were yelling things to Ozai, but the fierce Fire Lord never cared, and instead, shut them up with a display of his lighting based powers, and once that happened, Zuko placed his hand strongly against his chest and began breathing out in the Anapanasati technique.

"My people!" Ozai yelled, as if his people were proud of him, which they weren't. "The Civil War is finally over." But the Fire Nation citizens disliked his methods. "But this war pushed away from me both, my traitorous son, and my prodigy daughter… and now I no longer have a heir to the throne of the Fire Nation, but not all hope is lost! My brothers, since today, I'm here to make an important announcement, this war has taken away more lives than it should, and a brave girl, lost it all to the likes of the rebels, when her parents were murdered by them coldheartedly." Ozai declared, Zuko then stared at Mai; she reflected no emotion as was usual, even when wearing black clothing in signal of respect for her supposed murdered family.

"Damn you, father… you killed her parents…" Zuko spoke to himself, both Ty Lee and Katara noticed. "And the worst part is… Mai knows it… but she still forgave you… why?" Zuko wanted to understand, but he couldn't, the answer soon came to his ears anyway.

"It is sad, but we all have lost something to this war, I lost my wife, my heirs to the throne, and this brave girl, general of our armies who fought against the Air Benders who rebelled against our way of life, and refused the existence of our god, Agni! Is in need of me, and thus I have called this meeting, to seal this announcement, and declare Lady Mai, as the only, rightful owner of my throne!" The announcement won Zuko's attention; his father went too far, stripping both him and Azula from their heritage, and giving a royalty position to Mai, who was already being crowned as the new princess of the Fire Nation.

Her soldiers cheered for her, the citizens remained in silence and confusion, they couldn't understand the reasons behind such announcement, they knew Zuko was murdered by his own father, but knew Azula had done nothing to anger their lord, also, the news of the war against the Air Nomads being because of religious meanings, was one the citizens weren't ready to accept, much less to a god like Agni, who was said to rule by fear and by the demand of blood.

"I can't believe this." Katara won Zuko's attention. "Who in the spirit's name gives cult to a spirit like Agni? And going as far as calling him a god? That's nonsense." Ty Lee, for once, had to agree with Katara, although she would never admit it. "At any rate, what are we going to do now? You and Azula were just stripped from your royal heritage; you are the heir to the throne no more."

"To the eyes of my father, maybe I'm not." Zuko began; he still had a faint hope in things turning for the better. "But for my nation… I'm sure of it… some still believe there is good in our culture… and I will keep fighting for them…"

"With such a weak heart, I seriously doubt it." Katara added, Ty Lee was annoyed; Zuko just accepted the comment as a fact and calmed down. "Would you mind using your brain for once? You do no good to anyone dead, I heard it from Sokka, how you planned on dying as a martyr two years ago, that's the way of a coward."

"Katara!" Ty Lee interrupted, she could no longer control her temper, the princess of the Water Tribe was just too self-centered as to care for others, or so she thought. "How could you say such a thing? Zuko was ready to sacrifice his own life in favor of peace!"

"But she is right." Zuko added, Ty Lee just faced the floor. "Someone did die as a martyr that day… and look at things now… nothing has changed, the whole contrary, everything turned out to be worse." And Zuko closed his hands into fists, a brave man died, and it was useless. "If it had been me… would it be any different? Today my people think and complain, as they haven't done in the past… but there is still no one stepping up against my father's madness… someone should! But they do nothing!" His yell won the people's attention, and both Katara and Ty Lee tried to calm him down. "Why? The plan was perfect, my nation, the one I was going to die for, the one I actually died for, was supposed to take arms and crush you father!" And Ozai's eyes widened, just then, Zuko revealed himself to the crowd. "I'm here! And I'm still the heir to the throne! You have no right from stripping me from my title!"

"But I can!" Ozai yelled back, and with a movement of his hands, called his guards to capture Zuko. "I can't believe you are alive! I killed you with my own hands! But now, it seems like I have to do it again! Get him!"

"Ok, this already ran out of control, and we didn't even get close enough to the leaders of the rebellion." Ty Lee pointed out, but she then noticed the eyes of Mai filling themselves with madness and rage. "Ow, crap!" Ty Lee yelled and rushed away, but Mai took her sword out and ran after her. "How many times do I have to pierce you with my arrows for you to stay dead?" She added in annoyance and took her bow and arrow out, both figures then disappeared in the in ruins city, leaving both Zuko and Katara alone and surrounded by Fire Nation soldiers.

"Your people moved aside… you are their prince… but they still moved aside…" Katara began; Zuko just lowered his face and bit his lips in disapproval. "What will you do? Are you still planning on dying as a martyr for a nation who doesn't believe in you?"

"They believed… at least they did when I was the Blue Spirit." Zuko and Katara where now back against back, and the Fire Nation soldiers were getting closer and closer, but Zuko still tried to find his answers, he wanted to believe, but his people were looking away, abandoning him, and he was their prince. "I don't care." He began, his hands filling themselves with flames, and his chest breathing out only once, entering the Anapanasati trance. "Even if it kills me." He breathed again, and wasted it in yet another group of words. "I will recover my nation."

"Is that truly your conviction? Your Judgment?" The word earned the attention of Zuko's ears, he was, after all, the one who would bring judgment and even if this was or not the judgment his birth was said to bring with him, Katara's words had a great impact in his shattered heart. "Well?" She asked, the lances of the speared knights of the Fire Nation soldiers were approaching their necks, but Zuko finally nodded in agreement. "Is that so? Then my answer is clear as well." She began; Zuko directed his healthy eye at her. "I want to see it with my own eyes in order to believing in it." Katara then made some strange movements, as if commanding water, even when there was no water around them, the Fire Nation soldiers remained in silence, they just waited for whatever Katara did to take form, but nothing did, and then resumed their approach, only Katara was smiling at them, such conviction-full grin winning their attention. "You really don't know who you are messing with." Water came out from the floor in the form of strong water spurts, and the Fire Nation soldiers were washed away. "I told you I was the greatest waterbending master, and your nation has a great sewer's system."

"So, you are attacking my people with sewer's water?" She nodded, Zuko was grossed out. "And you still dare saying your element is superior to mine." More soldiers approached, Katara and Zuko began battling them back, Zuko using the full extension of his Fire Bending, and Katara taking clean water from out of her many water cans, which contained different kinds of fluids, from common water, to paint to break the soldiers visibility, and even oil, which Zuko used to power up his bending. "Nice trick!"

"Hey, if it's water, I can bend it." She added, and while doing it so, a soldier got too close to her and launched an attack with his lance, which edge Katara slapped away and then forced the soldier to approach, then slamming her open palm on his face. "Told ya I was trained in military tactics."

"Was that Chuan? Sokka being searching for a Chuan Master, you knew that, didn't you?" Katara moved her head in negation; Zuko just slapped his own face hard. "I should have known, once we are back to your tribe, we will talk Sokka into training with you!" Zuko yelled and then kicked the face of one of his nation's soldiers; he then breathed out once and resumed the fighting.

"Me? I just know the basis of Chuan! This is actually the first time I use it in real battle." She added and blocked the edge of a sword, then redirecting it to the floor and finally kicking the face of the soldier, after which she used her water bending to freeze him and several soldiers already approaching to them. "Ran out of water."

"And I ran out of gas." Zuko added while gasping for air, his Anapanasati was nowhere near close to Ty Lee's one, he managed to resist the need of his heart to rest for a while, but just not enough to become a one man's army as Ty Lee could. "Before dying, I just want you to know I always thought you were cute, but then again, you are also are a total pain."

"This isn't the time for you to be revealing feelings you should be keeping to yourself! And I'm not a pain!" Katara yelled back in annoyance. "I'm a princess, Zuko, and I deserve your respect!"

"A princess?" Ozai spoke out; Katara just slapped her own forehead because of her stupidity. "I remember you." Ozai added, Katara faced away, trying to hide her face behind her cloak. "It's of no use, Princess Katara of the Southern Water Tribe!" The revelation left everyone speechless, even the soldiers didn't know how to react. "Do you see it now? My worthless son has allied himself with Water Tribe savages! The same savages who drowned our lands, began the war, and killed your queen!" The citizens of the Fire Nation all had different reactions after such revelation. "This is the greatest piece of treason in Fire Nation history; you and your race are despicable! I will never give up until you all burn!" Katara was enraged, she was once again being called names because of being Water Tribe, she was falling to the savage side of hers which had consumed her since Sokka and her mother abandoned her years ago, but Zuko took her hand, calming her down. "Despicable!"

"It is not!" Zuko breathed heavily, trying once again to enter the Anapanasati trance. "The Water Tribe began the war, I know, we all do." He breathed once again. "But their sin shouldn't blind our judgment, just because they are different, it doesn't mean we should hate them." Zuko breathed out once again, Katara just remained in silence. "Why do you hate them? Is it because of their skin? It is tanner than ours, so what? Yours would be tan too if you had to live at the poles! Where they barely have food to survive! They can't grow vegetables, which by the way, is the reason of why our skin is paler!" Zuko then coughed hard, so hard even blood began falling from his mouth, Katara went to his side and helped him recover, but Zuko still continued. "Maybe it is because you fear them, water can extinguish fire, you think they have the power to reveal against you, and guess what, they do! That's why you want to exterminate them!"

"Zuko, that's enough." Katara began, Zuko was already on his knees, he had abandoned the Anapanasati trance entirely. "You will die if you keep this up; you need to enter the Anapanasati trance again."

"Not until I'm finished." Zuko stood up weakly, only Katara was helping him regain equilibrium. "I can understand why you want to exterminate them, I don't like it, but I understand… you fear them… and you got good reasons for it… but why attacking the Air Benders? They never did you any wrong to you or to anyone; you began a genocide, and took over their temples, so you could have your military bases ready for an invasion to the Earth Kingdom! No one is safe with you on the throne, not even us!" The people began talking about everything they had just heard, it all made sense now. "A war with the Earth Kingdom, will leave both cultures in ruins… but let's say you win… no more waterbenders, no more airbenders, no more earthbenders, great job father, earth is Fire Nation, and Fire Nation alone, what next? Will you follow your god Agni, and believe his blessing is only for firebenders? Half of our people are no benders, and many others are dirty bloods, what will you do, slave them? Or perhaps killing them is easier? At any rate… if you aren't a fire bender… you are done for…"

The people finally reacted, they were mad, they couldn't believe Ozai had plotted something like this; it didn't matter to them now if Zuko was stripped from his royalty status, they wanted him on the throne, and they wanted Ozai out. People threw rocks to the soldiers, some even hit Fire Lord Ozai, and that, enraged him even more. "I want them all dead!" He yelled, but not even the soldiers were sure about continuing with the capture of Zuko and Katara, not the no benders and dirty bloods at least. "Fools! I'm the Fire Lord!"

"Not if I have something to say about it!" Zuko yelled, and his people cheered. "Listen to me! People of the Fire Nation…" And everyone remained in silence. "The blackest day of the Fire Nation… will come…" He then gasped for air, and almost fainted, but Katara held him up. "One month… those who are loyal to the Fire Nation… and wish to free our nation from my sick father… leave our nation, since in a month, when the skies turn dark, I will return, and any Fire Nation left behind will be my enemy, the enemy of our nation… and I will have no mercy!" And afterwards, Zuko spit out blood once again, and Katara knew he would say no more, she placed his arm around her shoulders and then ran away, some soldiers still loyal to Ozai tried to stop her, some others who no longer were loyal to the Fire Lord opened a path for them to follow, and another Civil War began, with many believing in Zuko, but many others siding against the Water Tribe savages.

* * *

Far from there, and hearing the commotion taking place, was Ty Lee, who stayed close to ground zero by the ceiling of an in ruins building, she was still in search for the leaders of the rebellion while Mai hunted her down, with the only propose of killing the one eyed beauty. "Damn it! I hope Zuko and Katara are alright, I couldn't help it but run for my life when I saw Mai, that girl gives me the creeps!" She whispered to herself and then readied her bow, she knew Mai was close, but she also knew the leaders of the rebellion were even closer, since she was hiding inside of the prisoner's camp, where the soldiers who still didn't know what was going on at the ground zero, were preparing the leaders of the rebellion for their execution. "I wonder if they are unharmed." Ty Lee wondered, and her question was soon answered.

With chains on their necks, the prisoners were pulled toward the ground zero, between them was Master Yu and his wife Ming, Ty Lee heard she was pregnant, but her belly said different, she thought perhaps she already had her child, but if that was the case, finding him or her was also a priority. Smellerbee was also there, Ty Lee didn't know her, but she was apparently one of the leaders of the rebellion, just like Haru and Tyro, she knew their names thanks to Zuko's instructions, but knew nothing about them. "Yu, Ming, Smellerbee, Haru and Tyro, those are five, and with Toph, Sokka, Zuko and myself, we are nine, but where in the world is Mastyer Jeong Jeong… he was supposed to be second in command here, just below Master Yu?" She wondered, but her attention wasn't entirely placed in the captures leaders, but in finding Ming's baby. "If I were a baby… where would I be…" She told herself, and then saw Ming pulling her chains toward some of the soldiers, she got her first clue, the soldiers with Ming's baby where the Southern Raiders, she recognized them because of the crow like emblem at their helmets. "Detective Ty Lee, one, Southern Raiders, about to lose a baby. "Ty Lee then prepared her bow and arrow, but soon she felt a chilling sensation behind her neck, the feeling of silky hair, falling from the ceiling and hitting her naked skin, she faced up, and what she saw freaked her out, Mai was there, with her legs holding to a broken piece of building and her whole body upside down, staring directly at Ty Lee with rage filled eyes. "Mai!" She yelled, and Mai launched a knife to her, one that hit her shoulder and forced her back. "I can't believe this… I didn't hear you coming." She said and then pulled the knife out of her shoulder and then stopped her own bleeding with acupuncture. "You won't be that lucky anymore." She readied her bow in order to use it as a staff, but Mai wasn't there anymore, instead, she had a knife pressed against Ty Lee's throat, ready to cut her, but Ty Lee breathed once, entering the Anapanasati trance, and moved fast before Mai could cut her, spun around, and send her to the other side of the room before entering the baguazhang battle posture. "Come and get me." She demanded.

"Ughly!" Was everything Mai said while standing out, Ty Lee couldn't understand a thing, but Mai then grabbed her throat, and the memories of firing at her when trying to kill her returned to Ty Lee's mind. "Ughly!"

"We were best friends." Ty Lee interrupted. "But you lost your mind… I still don't know if I can kill you… I don't even know if I want to… no, I really don't want to, but need to… because." She then saw Mai taking out a sharp sword; it looked far stronger than the one she wielded against Sokka, perhaps another present from Ozai. "If I don't kill you… you will surely kill me… kill or get killed… how annoying." Mai swung her sword, Ty Lee's eye reacted, seeing the air being cut, and so, she was forced to leave the baguazhang and jump aside. "Sokka wasn't lying, that must be Xue… the sword her highness broke in half… looks like you fixed it, and made it sharper." Mai placed her sword near her throat; she needed no words to make her point out. "Want my head? Not a chance… I can't die…" She breathed out one; she was once again entering the Anapanasati trance. "…Not now… not until seeing her highness claiming her throne… and marrying that person who drove me nuts and forced me to help him…" She breathed once again. "That's the reason of why you can't defeat me… no one can… I'm a one girl's army…" Mai glared at Ty Lee with rage, and swung her sword, sending a wave of cut air toward Ty Lee, but the one eyed girl could read the wind, she was an archer, and trained by the same Air Nomad who trained Avatar Aang, she knew wind, and could read it perfectly. "I won't hold back anymore! You are a treat, to me, to her highness, to Sokka, to anyone, even yourself!"

"Ughly!" Was Mai's only reply, it was all she could say with her weakened voice, she swung, Ty Lee dodged and tried to kick her face, Mai blocked, took a sharp knife from her black sleeve and tried to cut Ty Lee's feet, but found Ty Lee's Yuan boy hitting the face of her knife, and preventing both her or her precious bow to be damaged, it was a display of ability which would impress anyone, both warriors were even, whether it was in ability, handicaps or childhood's trauma, both were destined to be enemies, and their battles finally won the attention of the spirits, or an evil spirit at least, since Mai was protected by the spirit of Agni, different to Ty Lee, who the spirits weren't watching, but earned their attention. "Ughly!" Mai swung, Ty Lee jumped, none could touch one another, but Ty Lee could feel it, Mai had the advantage, since even if their battle had just began, the one eyed girl was forced out of the baguazhang and the Anapanasati, she couldn't even find the time to breath and enter the trance, and her Chi Blocking was useless against Mai, since there was no way she could get close enough, even they were, but Mai just found a way to surpass even Ty Lee. "Ughly!"

* * *

At the Boiling Rock, Sokka was trying to read the manuscripts his Chuan master had given to him, different to Ty Lee, Sokka couldn't learn the martial arts of Chuan with just watching some drawings, no matter how perfect these were, but he couldn't even train with his Chuan master, it was uncomfortable, since the lady teaching him Chuan, was the girl he was once promised to, and the one he refused to be married with. Even so, he tried to mimic the movements at the pictures, trying hard to learn Chuan on his own, Bato had said before that he knew the basics, and that Sokka already dominated them as well, thanks both to his past training in Aikido and Chi Blocking, but mostly because of his great ability when learning these teachings.

At first, he allowed Yue to train him, she had a special training method, learning Chuan was easier than Chi Blocking and Aikido for him; he was from the Water Tribe anyway, so these teachings, which found their origins in waterbending, were easier. But yet again, accepting Yue's training felt forbidden to him, and she ended placing her teachings in scrolls so Sokka would follow them. Saddly, Sokka couldn't take training seriously when he didn't have a master.

"This is useless." Sokka admitted after finishing his Chuan training, he felt no different, he felt he just forgot everything he had trained, he definitively needed someone to teach him, and only Yue knew enough, not even Bato knew more than the basis. "At this rate I will never be able to master Chuan in time for the day of the black sun, I need Yue."

"Well, that is rude!" Sokka flinched when hearing that feminine voice, he turned around and found Sangok there, or so he thought, the one he was actually staring at was Toph, who smirked at him from behind Sangok's Turtle-Seal helmet, while she carried the unconscious body of a Fire Nation soldier at her shoulders. "What do you need Yue for when you have such a beautiful bride at your side, our Princess Toph Bei Fong will be really upset if she finds out, you know?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Sokka added after moving his head several times trying to convince himself he didn't hear a feminine voice coming from Sangok, but then again, he wasn't so sure. "This isn't the time to be thinking about Toph." He told to himself, and that drew a smile at her face. "Anyway, someone tie those soldiers, we are invading the Boiling Rock tomorrow, look alive people." Toph then threw the unconscious soldier to the floor, some soldiers then began tying them and stripping them from their uniforms. "Its official, I can't concentrate… I just don't feel that heroic when Ty Lee and Toph aren't watching, I miss my mercenary team."

"Aw, you are going to make me cry." Sangok joked, Sokka then cleaned his ears, he definitively heard a female voice, and then he though he caught a glimpse of milky green eyes behind the Turtle-Seal helmet, but that wasn't possible, he just missed Toph too much, or so he thought, when seeing Sangok placing his hands at the helmet, he had a feeling he knew what was going to happen, only he wasn't actually expecting it. Bato smiled proudly when seeing Toph's long and silky hair falling from inside of her helmet, it was a view which reminded him of Kaya, since inspired in the tale of Sokka's brave mother, Toph was offering a tribute to her, and as Kaya did in the past, even if no one in the cave had no doubts left, she began taking her armor off, rebelling her childish, but still feminine figure, and with only a piece of blue tunic covering her body, she yelled to her people, with a voice full of authority. "I am Toph Bei Fong, future queen of the Water society and the Earth Kingdom, the blood of Avatar Kyoshi runs through my veins, and I will fight alongside my people for times of peace, whether you want it or not, since my authority is unquestionable!" Some of the soldiers remembered those words, the words of Kaya, the White Empress of the South, their eyes watered, even Bato's ones did, Sokka never heard his mother say them, this was the first time he ever heard such speech, but placing all that aside, he walked toward Toph, placed his hands at her shoulders, and pulled her into a hug. "You really thought you were going to leave me behind as you did at the Southern Air Temple? Think again, I'm never leaving your side ever again… Sokka…" And in her heart, and in the lone tear falling from her blind eyes, she knew Kaya was proud of her. "Let's lead our people, together."


End file.
